On December 29, 2006, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published a final rule in the Federal Register harmonizing certain aspects of the U.S. Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) with the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code, the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air, and the…
Aerosols: Is Further Harmonization Needed?
With so much focus over the years on harmonizing the dangerous goods regulations, one commodity that can definitely benefit from a focused review is the entry for aerosols. This is particularly a concern relative to U.S. regulations, where the definition for aerosols is not aligned with the international definition. In §171.8 of the Hazardous Materials…
PHMSA Publishes Editorial Corrections and Clarifications Rule
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published a final rule today that incorporates a host of minor amendments to the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR). The “RRR” designation in the final rule description indicates that the rule was developed under the Retrospective Regulatory Review initiative that was imposed on regulatory agencies through Executive Order…
PHMSA Publishes Long-Awaited HM-215L Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Harmonization the Hazardous Materials Regulations with International Standards
The DOT Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published the long-awaited HM-215L Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) today. The NPRM proposes a number of amendments to align the Hazardous Materials Regulations; 49 CFR Parts 171-180 (HMR) with the latest editions of the United Nations Model Regulations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (17th revised…
Reverse Logistics Addressed in PHMSA Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is requesting input to help formulate policies regarding the transport of hazardous consumer products during the “reverse logistics” portion of the supply chain. PHMSA published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) late last week soliciting public comments in order to identify ways to reduce the…
2012 Emergency Response Guidebook Now Available
The 2012 Emergency Response Guidebook, a must-have hazmat incident resource for first responders and hazmat shippers, is in stock! Standard-bound regular size (English and Spanish) and pocket size ERGs are available to ship immediately. Additionally, the remaining variations of the 2012 ERG are expected to arrive on the following dates: Pocket size spiral-bound 2012 ERG…
PHMSA Responds to Recent Rule Appeals, Proposes to Extend ORM-D System Phase-Out Until End of 2015
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration (PHMSA) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the U.S. Federal Register today addressing appeals that resulted from recent harmonization rules HM-215K and HM-231, both of which dealt with hazmat packaging requirements. Companies should examine the NPRM carefully and work with their respective trade organizations to ensure that…
PHMSA Adopts Secondary Closure Requirement for Certain Air Shipments of Hazardous Liquids
U.S. shippers of hazardous materials via aircraft should take note of new restrictions for combination packages containing liquids adopted by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) last month. The new rule, HM-231A, amends the U.S. Hazardous Materials Regulations to “require closures of inner packagings containing liquids within a combination packaging intended for transportation by…
Changes to 2012 Emergency Response Guidebook Now Available
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) recently posted its summary of changes to the 2012 Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG). The ERG is revised every four years in order to accommodate new product introductions, technology updates and regulatory changes. The following is the list of modifications to the 2012 ERG as provided by PHMSA:…
PHMSA Considering Harmonization with International Air Requirements for Transport of Lithium Batteries and Cells
PHMSA is attempting to breathe new life into stronger domestic shipping standards for lithium batteries with a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) issued today. PHMSA originally issued a NPRM to address the air transportation risks posed by lithium cells and batteries more than two years ago. Since that time, the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO)…