Today is the day when people all over the world celebrate love. This celebration is often manifested by the sending of cherished missives and objects from lover to lover. While the standard Valentine’s card or box of chocolates requires no special measures, it’s important to realize that many romantic notions have Dangerous Goods implications. We…
Lithium Battery Friday—a.k.a. 2018 Dangerous Goods Symposium, Day 3
There’s a special charge in the air on Friday at the Dangerous Goods Symposium, because Day 3 is Lithium Battery Day. Everyone’s favorite regulated material gets an all-star panel and a no-(cargo) holds-barred Q & A session, so there’s a high capacity for shock. As IATA’s Dave Brennan said, “Lithium batteries are a very emotional…
DG Digest: FMCSA to hold listening session on HOS, PHMSA announces new special permits
The Labor Day week is over, and the last of the summer holidays has passed. Along with the return to school for children, this time of the year often portends a busier regulatory schedule as regulators, like everyone else, get back to being busy. We’ll see how this fall goes, but meanwhile, here’s the last…
2018 Dangerous Goods Symposium speaker Peter Mackay: Survey data is ammunition.
Peter Mackay, editor-in-chief of HCB, will introduce the results of the 2018 Dangerous Goods Confidence Survey during the 13th annual Dangerous Goods Symposium, September 5–7, 2018, in Rosemont, Illinois. Revealing the results of the annual Dangerous Goods Confidence Survey has become a mainstay of the Dangerous Goods Symposium. Co-sponsored by Labelmaster, HCB and—for the first…
2018 Dangerous Goods Symposium speaker Dave Brennan on IATA and innovation
Dave Brennan, Assistant Director of Cargo Safety & Standards at International Air Transport Association, will share updates from IATA during the 13th annual Dangerous Goods Symposium, September 5–7, 2018, in Rosemont, Illinois. Longtime IATA veteran Dave Brennan says, “It’s been one of the quieter years for updates.” Yet even in a quiet year, he…
PHMSA publishes proposed upcoming regulatory agenda
The US government’s Office of Management and Budget, or OMB, recently published the projected regulatory agenda that PHMSA intends to pursue over the next six months. Federal agencies typically publish their agendas on a semiannual basis as an indicator of the priorities they envision working on. Such activities will be published in the Federal Register…
DG Digest: OSHA Issues ICRs on Bloodborne Pathogens, Mechanical Presses, and Explosives
Spring is finally springing over the nation; the last few days have brought warmer weather and a slackening of the late snowfall that has plagued so many places around the country. Let’s hope it sticks; the spring, not the snow! It was a relatively quiet week in the regulatory world; here the latest happenings: PHMSA…
IATA Publishes 2018 Guidelines for Passengers Traveling with Lithium Batteries
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) today published their guidelines for passengers traveling with lithium batteries and devices that contain lithium batteries. Please download and refer to their full guide here: LithiumBatteryPassengers_March 2018. Some highlights: Effective March, 2018 These rules are already in effect as of March. The guide covers topics like: Types of batteries and when…
10 things your C-suite might not know about Dangerous Goods
In our 2014 Master Series video—“DG and the C-suite: What Every Executive Needs to Know”—Labelmaster President Alan Schoen says: “Unfortunately, the C-suite does not know a lot about the transportation of Dangerous Goods. They think we’re shipping nuclear bars from the waste treatment plant, and that’s not what it is.” How much has changed in…
Hazmat experts agree—it’s time to sign up for the Dangerous Goods Symposium!
Register today! Rates go up April 1. September seems a long way off, doesn’t it? We in the Midwest are still digging out from our biggest snowfall in a couple of years, and major league baseball players are only just reporting to spring training this week. But it’s not too soon to talk about September,…