Shipping Hazardous Materials
In this section we will discuss the following:
- THE DEFINITION OF HAZARDOUS
- THE "EXCEPTION" TO THE RULE
- FILLING OUT BILL OF LADINGS
- BLACK SWAN PRODUCTS THAT ARE CONSIDERED HAZARDOUS FOR SHIPPING PURPOSES
- BLACK SWAN PRODUCTS THAT ARE LIMITED QUANTITY
- ACCESSIBILITY OF SHIPPING PAPERS
- IN CASE OF A SPILL
- PLACARDING
- ACCIDENTS DURING TRANSPORTATION
- TIPS ON SHIPPING BLACK SWAN PRODUCTS
1. DEFINITION OF HAZARDOUS
Products that are corrosive, flammable, toxic, radioactive, explosive or reactive.2. "EXCEPTION" TO THE RULE
If the package that contains the hazardous material is in a small consumer type size, then the rules that apply to shipping hazardous materials do not apply. This is called an "exception". Black Swan classifies the exception as "LIMITED QUANTITY".3. FILLING OUT THE BILL OF LADINGS
There are specific requirements to filling out bill of ladings when shipping hazardous materials.
- The proper shipping name must be determined. The D.O.T. has a chart showing the exact shipping name that should be used for different chemicals. There can be no modification or abbreviation of this description. This information can be ascertained by looking at the manufacturer's bill of lading, the shipping cartons or by calling the manufacturers. There is absolutely no need for Black Swan customers to do homework on determining proper shipping names.
- Hazardous items must be listed first on the bill of lading, or the entries must be in contrasting colors, or an "X" must be marked in the hazardous material (HM) column.
- The quantity and weight must be figured for each shipping name on the bill of lading. This information is needed to determine the need for placarding and to determine extent of the danger in placarding and to determine extent of the danger in case of an accident.
- Different hazardous materials belong to different hazardous classes. This hazard class must be marked on the bill of ladings.
- Different hazardous materials have different I.D. numbers. This information must be on the bill of ladings. This information ties into the D.O.T.'s emergency response guidebook which provides assistance to emergency personnel in case of an accident.
- The D.O.T. classifies hazardous materials into packing groups. Group I is great danger, Group II is medium danger and Group III is minor danger. These numbers are roman numerals and they must be written in this way.
- If placarding is necessary then it must be noted on the bill of lading under the column "labels required".
4. BLACK SWAN PRODUCTS THAT ARE HAZARDOUS FOR SHIPPING PURPOSES AND THE PROPER SHIPPING NAMES
- Product- Cements and Primers (Category 7 & 8)
Size - Gallon, 5 gal. and 55 gal. - Hazardous material description
"ADHESIVES, CONTAINING A FLAMMABLE LIQUID" - Hazardous Class -3
- I.D. Number - UN 1133
- Packing group - II
- Label required - flammable liquid
- Product - Root Destroyer Size - 5 lb. and 25 lb.
- Hazardous material description
"ENVIRONMENTALLY HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE, SOLID, N.O.S. (CUPRIC SULFATE)" - Hazardous Class - 9
- I.D. Number - UN 3077
- Packing group - III
- Label required - none
- Product - Dagger and Muriatic Acid Size - gal.
- Hazardous material description
"HYDROCHLORIC ACID, SOLUTION" - Hazardous Class - 8
- I.D. Number - UN 1789
- Packing group - II
- Label required - Corrosive
- Product - Zap And Zap+ Size - 1/2 gal. and gal.
- Hazardous material description
"SULFURIC ACID" - Hazardous Class - 8
- I.D. Number - UN 1830
- Packing group - II
- Label required - Corrosive
- Product - Liquid Drain Pipe Opener-Regular & Heavy
Duty and Drainstar Size - 1/2 gal. and gal. - Hazardous material description
"SODIUM HYDROXIDE, SOLUTION" - Hazardous Class - 8
- I.D. Number - UN 1824
- Packing group - II
- Label required - Corrosive
- Product - Power Crystals and Power Flakes - Size - 6 lb., 25 lb. and 50 lb.
- Hazardous material description
"SODIUM HYDROXIDE, SOLID" - Hazardous Class - 8
- I.D. Number - UN1823
- Packing group - II
- Label required - Corrosive
- Potassium Permanganate - 3 lb.
- Hazardous material description
"Potassium Permanganate" - Hazardous Class - 5.1
- I.D. Number - UN 1490
- Packing group - II
- Label required - Oxidizer
REMEMBER TO PUT AN "X" IN THE COLUMN MARKED HM. ALL OF THE ABOVE INFORMATION MUST BE ON THE BILL OF LADING. MAKE SURE THE BILL OF LADING MATCHES THE INFORMATION ON THE SHIPPING CARTON.
5. BLACK SWAN PRODUCTS THAT ARE CLASSIFIED AS "LIMITED QUANTITY"
STOCK NO. | PRODUCT | SIZE |
03105 | BOWL & PORCELAIN CLEANER |
qt. |
03220 | JEFFY'S BOWL CLEANSE |
qt. |
03240 | CHROME & TILE CLEANER |
qt. |
03250 | JETS AHOY! |
qt. |
03260 | GARBAGE DISPOSAL CLEANER |
12 oz. |
03270 | URINAL GUARD |
qt. |
04030 | IRON PASTE |
1/2 pt. |
04031 | IRON PASTE |
pt. |
04032 | IRON PASTE |
qt. |
* 04052 | PIPE-LUBE *Aerosol Spray |
16 oz. |
04080 | ADHESIVE-LUBE |
qt. |
04081 | ADHESIVE-LUBE |
qt. |
04085 | NO-HUB SEALANT |
qt. |
04090 | PLASTIC GASKET SEALANT |
qt. |
04220 | PIPE WRAP PRIMER |
pt. |
04230 | PIPE WRAP PRIMER |
qt. |
04240 | GASKET AIDE |
1/4 pt. |
04242 | GASKET AIDE |
1/4 pt. |
CATEGORY 7&8 | ALL CEMENTS AND PRIMERS |
---- |
09000 | ROOT DESTROYER |
2 lb. |
09010 | DAGGER |
qt. |
09017 | 20° MURIATIC ACID |
qt. |
09020 | ZAP DRAIN PIPE OPENER |
qt. |
09028 | ONE-SHOT |
pt. |
09030 | LIQUID DRAIN PIPE OPENER |
qt. |
09036 | LIQUID DRAIN PIPE OPENER-HEAVY DUTY |
qt. |
09150 | DYNAMIC DUO |
qt. & 1 lb. |
09160 | POWER FLAKES |
1 lb. |
09170 | POWER FLAKES |
2 lb. |
09175 | POWER CRYSTALS |
1 lb. |
09177 | POWER CRYSTALS |
2 lb. |
09300 | DRAINSTAR |
qt. |
09330 | ZAP+ DRAIN PIPE OPENER |
pt. |
09335 | ZAP+ DRAIN PIPE OPENER |
qt. |
CATEGORY 15 | MARKING PAINT - ALL COLORS |
17 oz. |
15160 | PLUMBERS SPRAY PAINT - GRAY |
10 oz. |
17260 | SHOWER PAN SOLVENT CEMENT |
pt |
ON THE BILL OF LADINGS THESE ITEMS WILL BE MARKED UNDER THE "LIMITED QUANTITY" DESCRIPTION. THERE IS NO HAZARDOUS CLASS, I.D. NUMBER, PACKING GROUP OR LABELS REQUIRED.
6. ACCESSIBILITY OF SHIPPING PAPERS
When shipping hazardous materials it is important to have an emergency response guidebook. This provides assistance to emergency personnel in case of an accident. This booklet along with the bill of ladings must be readily available to the driver of the vehicle or anybody else entering the driver's compartment.
7. IN CASE OF A SPILL
A spill or release of hazardous material must be reported to the U.S. National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802 as soon as any person has knowledge of the spill. It must be reported if the spill is equal to or greater that the reportable quantity of the substance. The D.O.T. reportable quantity for Black Swan hazardous products are as follow:PRODUCT | RQ IN POUNDS |
CEMENTS & PRIMERS FOR PLASTIC PIPE |
1000 |
ROOT DESTROYER |
10 |
DAGGER & MURIATIC ACID |
5000 |
ZAP& ZAP+ |
1000 |
HEAVY DUTY & REGULAR LIQUID DRAIN PIPE OPENER & DRAINSTAR |
1000 |
POWER CRYSTALS & POWER FLAKES |
1000 |
POTASSIUM PERMANGANATE |
100 |
8. PLACARDING
Placarding refers to the placement of diamond shape signs on any vehicle transporting hazardous materials. The need for placarding depends on the weight of all the material that falls in a hazardous class.THE RULES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
- If the weight of one hazard class is below 1000 lbs. no placarding is necessary.
- If the weight of one hazard class is above 1000 lbs. then placarding is required.
- If there are two hazardous classes on a shipment and one class is above 1000 lbs. and the other class is below 1000 lbs. then the class that is above 1000 lbs. must be placarded.
- If there are two hazardous classes on a shipment and they are both above 1000 lbs. and below 2205 lbs., then you can placard the truck for both hazards or you can choose a "dangerous" placard. This covers you for both hazards.
- If there are two hazardous materials on a shipment and one of them is over 2205 lbs. you do not have the option of using the "dangerous" placard. The dangerous placard can only be used for mixed classed between 1000 and 2205 lbs.
EXAMPLES OF PROPER PLACARDING
SHIPMENT | HAZARD | PLACARDS NECESSARY |
ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATIVE |
500 LBS. OF DAGGER 500 LBS. OF CEMENT & PRIMERS |
CORROSIVE FLAMMABLE |
NONE NONE |
NO ALTERNATIVE NO ALTERNATIVE |
1500 LBS. OF DAGGER 500 LBS. OF CEMENTS & PRIMERS |
CORROSIVE FLAMMABLE |
CORROSIVE NONE |
NO ALTERNATIVE NO ALTERNATIVE |
1200 LBS. OF DAGGER 1200 LBS. OF CEMENTS & PRIMERS |
CORROSIVE FLAMMABLE |
CORROSIVE FLAMMABLE |
DANGEROUS DANGEROUS |
1200 LBS. OF DAGGER 2500 LBS. OF CEMENTS & PRIMERS |
CORROSIVE FLAMMABLE |
CORROSIVE FLAMMABLE |
DANGEROUS FLAMMABLE |
2500 LBS. OF DAGGER 2500 LBS. OF CEMENTS & PRIMERS |
CORROSIVE FLAMMABLE |
CORROSIVE FLAMMABLE |
NO ALTERNATIVE NO ALTERNATIVE |
9. ACCIDENTS DURING TRANSPORTATION
Black Swan subscribes to INFOTRAC, a service that offers special assistance to people involved in accidents while transporting Black Swan hazardous materials. Their telephone number is 1-800-535-5053. This service is available 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.
The information on INFOTRAC is noted on all Black Swan bill of ladings and when customers are reshipping Black Swan hazardous materials they can put the INFOTRAC information on their paperwork.
By reading the emergency response guidebook, looking at the material safety data sheets, calling INFOTRAC and using good common sense most accidents should be able to be handled without much difficulty.
10. THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND DURING AN ACCIDENT:
- Prevent unauthorized people from congregating in the area.
- No smoking, open fires, flames or sparks should be allowed in the area.
- Stop the spread of any hazardous spills.
- Don't touch any spilled material without proper safety equipment.
FINAL NOTE ON SHIPPING HAZARDOUS MATERIALS:
- Take this matter seriously. The fines can be substantial.
- If possible, avoid handling 1000 lbs. of any hazardous class at one time. In this way you can avoid placarding your vehicle.
- Set up a system in advance for shipping hazardous materials. Know what materials you ship and have all the proper bill of lading information readily available. By doing this in advance you will have less of a chance to make any errors.