As the nation transitions into the fall season, regulatory activity in the US sector remains minimal. FRA and FMCSA both issued actions, many of them concerned with a variety of hours-of-service issues for employees; we’ll cover those. However in big international news, the IMO has released its update of changes that will be incorporated into…
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…
Share your opinion—take our annual Dangerous Goods Confidence survey
Labelmaster, Hazardous Cargo Bulletin (HCB) and IATA partner to create the 2018 Dangerous Goods Confidence Outlook How do you keep up with changing hazmat regulations? How current are your DG shipping technology and infrastructure? And how severe should enforcement of hazmat violations be? Share your opinions about these issues—and many others—with the entire DG community!…
Confessions of a 3PL hazmat manager: “Lithium batteries are my life.”
Cody DeGrush is Hazardous Materials Manager at GEODIS. As a hazardous materials manager for a major third-party logistics (3PL) company, I’m almost a regulatory consultant within my own company. I share guidance with other organizations whenever regulations change, I gather information when onboarding a new client, and I oversee training. For the last four years,…
DG Digest: From OSHA’s “Flashpoint” Definition to FRA’s Quiet Zones
Another eventful week on the DG/Transport Scene! OSHA OSHA issued a revised definition of “Flashpoint,” correcting a CFR omission in its most recent iteration of the 29 CFR. OSHA has partnered with the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) to create a new informational website which offers greatly enhanced safety guidance for users…
DG Digest: More Lithium Battery News, PHMSA Special Permits and FRA Fines Hit Record Heights
Several items of note occurred in the DG world last week, with new and revised regulations affecting everything from Limited Quantities to Lithium Batteries and a vital Federal Agency noting that its enforcement penalties were way up: ICAO/IATA Lithium Battery Rules Changes Both the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Air Transport Association…
Federal Register publishes HM-233F revisions to the HMR
The United States Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) yesterday published the newest rulemaking under its HM-233 Docket family. This incorporates various aspects of previously issued Special Permits (SP’s) into the body of the regulations. Specials Permits are administrative actions that grant specific users permission to do something outside of…
ICAO imposes first-ever charge limit on lithium battery shipments, effective April 1
ICAO has published its much anticipated addendum highlighting additional consignment conditions for the transport of lithium batteries. The ICAO Dangerous Goods Panel considered that these would significantly improve the already high-level of safety of these shipments and it would be prudent to have them in place as soon as possible. As a result, the ICAO addendum…
DG Digest: FMCSA lowers truckers’ substance test rates, will hold FAST sessions; FRA begins PTC data collection
December 24: FMCSA cuts random truckers’ testing rate for substance abuse to 25%. Good news for truck drivers and carriers—the United States Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has cut the random testing rate for substance abuse in half, from 50% to 25%. This should produce a nice savings for carriers,…