Archive for News
This crisis highlights the importance of our extraordinary supply chain
No matter how well you appreciated the value of a well-functioning supply chain a few months ago, you probably have a far greater appreciation now. Two months after most of the world’s largest economies started slowing down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, most consumer goods are still available. (Well, except maybe for hand sanitizer.)...
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DG Digest: ICAO publishes COVID-19 safety handbook for the aviation industry and PHMSA issues HM-215O final rule
May continues under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic; however, in what we may all perhaps hope represents a step towards recovery, the big news this week is far more focused towards what we all might call “normal” regulatory activity, rather than the specific, focused actions related to the outbreak which have had primacy over...
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DG industry data: PHMSA’s incident report highlights greatest supply chain safety risks in Q1
Hazmat incidents may be more common than you realize. Despite the great work by Hazmat/DG Professionals — those making sure that compliance to transport regulations are strictly followed for each shipment — incidents of all manor happen regularly. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) gathers all U.S. DG/Hazmat incident...
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Our new HazMatters Podcast: Great Dangerous Goods advice, no reading glasses required.
One of the true pleasures of the Dangerous Goods Symposium is hearing experienced hazmat professionals explain complicated issues so clearly everyone can understand them. New shippers in the audience have often been heard to say, “Okay, now I get it. Now I know how to make this happen in my operation.” Now you can have...
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Shipping hazmat from a home office? Here’s how to make it work.
Admit it: You used to take hallway conversations for granted. As a supply chain professional, how many times have you had a question about something and just walked down the hall and gotten an answer within minutes? These days, getting that same answer might require a chat, an email or a dreaded video call that...
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DG Digest: USPS releases major revisions to Pub 52 in support of rapid transport of COVID-19 samples
The beginning of the first week in May finds the nation collectively grateful to say goodbye to a COVID-19 dominated April that must certainly rank as one of the worst and certainly tragic such months in living memory. As May begins, various locations around the nation are starting to grapple with how to begin to pick...
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Supply Chain Moves: Week of April 27th 2020
Week of April 27th, 2020 Linking technology news with Dangerous Goods compliance Technology helps organizations create flexible and agile operations that supports growth and enables them to adapt when disruptions arise. That’s why it’s important for companies to be forward-thinking in their technology investment. To help companies keep a pulse on technology trends impacting business...
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Webinar: Keeping hazmat air shipments compliant during a pandemic
In urgent times like these, air cargo is more essential than ever to the global supply chain.
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DG Digest: HHS updates requirements for new class of respirators, PHMSA provides guidance for handling shipping papers
The week just concluded finds the COVID-19 outbreak continuing to dominate regulatory activity, though there is a strong leavening of other news. Meanwhile, all of us continue to work towards moving the nation into a recovery phase, whenever that may become safe. For now, stay the course! Continue social distancing, wash those hands, protect your...
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PHMSA Issues Hazmat Shipping Paper Guidance During COVID-19 Social Distancing
On April 10, 2020, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a guidance document addressing the transfer of hazardous material shipping papers during the current COVID-19 pandemic. PHMSA has received many questions related to the transfer of shipping papers between shippers and carriers, and the difficulties with maintaining...
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DG Digest: PHMSA releases interpretive guide and USPS issues special exemption for hand sanitizer transport
The holiday weekend just concluded finds the nation still grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic as the overriding priority in virtually every aspect of our daily lives. This applies to the logistics sector as well, with several new items of interest related to the subject. Life does go on in the meantime too of course, and this is...
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Hazmat Quizmaster: An easy 2-minute quiz for Dangerous Goods newbies.
STAY SAFE, STAY SANE AND STAY COMPLIANT! Whether you’re shipping hazmat for the first time or it’s been part of your operation for years, Labelmaster has the resources you need to keep your operation efficient and compliant. Questions? Get the answers you need from the Labelmaster Regulatory Hotline. Make sure your shipments are safe and...
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DG Digest: PHMSA & Transport Canada ease transport rules on hand sanitizer
The ongoing COVID-19 crisis continues to dominate regulatory activity. Several new actions dealing with it were promulgated during the last week and we’ll cover them below. Labelmaster continues to serve the DG logistics chain during this time when it’s become even more important. We’re working safe and doing everything we can to be a positive...
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The danger counterfeit lithium batteries pose requires a global response
Geoff Leach is a consulting partner and was the former Head of the UK CAA Dangerous Goods Office and Chairman of the ICAO Dangerous Goods Panel. After 32 years at the CAA, in 2014, he set up The Dangerous Goods Office Limited offering training and consultancy around the world. By Geoff Leach One of the...
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Distilleries making hand sanitizer? Hooray! Here’s how to ship it safely.
Among all the dire news surrounding the COVID-19 crisis, there’s one story that’s lightened a lot of people’s moods: distillers of alcoholic beverages (including several in the Chicago area) switching over some of their production to make desperately needed hand sanitizer. We love this story because: Supplies of hand sanitizer have been running low at...
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DG Digest: PHMSA temporarily relaxing recurrent training certificate requirement, HHS announces list of scarce materials threatened by hoarding
The COVID-19 crisis commands most of the week’s regulatory news. As the world continues to work through its response, the weekly DG Digest will continue in its present format during the crisis: one section devoted specifically to news related to the pandemic, with other news in a separate section. Labelmaster remains fully operational and serving...
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What COVID-19 test sites must know about shipping infectious substances
For complete guidelines and resources for transporting COVID-19 test samples, please visit our coronavirus shipping guidelines page. With new COVID-19 test sites setting up all over the United States and the world, many businesses and their employees will be transporting infectious substances for the first time. These shippers must be aware of two important topics:...
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DG Digest: vital transport, extra hand sanitizer, critical infrastructure workforce — agencies respond to the global pandemic
As readers have no doubt already guessed, the global response to the COVID-19 outbreak dominates this week’s regulatory news, with a widening variety of actions now being promulgated to assist the transport industry in coping with the unprecedented situation. Labelmaster has been designated as an essential business in this circumstance and will continue to operate. ...
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Virtual hazmat training: interactive, customized and ideal for these times
While you’re coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, there are many things you can put off until life gets back to normal. Hazmat training, however, is probably not one of them. If your—or your team’s—certifications are coming due, you have to renew your training, or you risk fines for non-compliance. (Expired or incomplete training certifications are...
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Spring Psychosis! It’s our 2020 Dangerous Goods tournament bracket!
Welp, it’s supposed to be that time of year when high school and college basketball teams start playing each other in single-elimination tournaments, and people everywhere had planned to put up brackets on cubicle walls. Unfortunately, Covid-19 virus concerns have caused the cancellation of many large gatherings and sports tournaments as folks here in the...
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DG Digest: U.S. DOT and PHMSA each outline revised guidance on regulatory roles
The second week in March finds the nation continuing to cope with the growing COVID-19 viral outbreak. Help your employees stay safe by emphasizing the basics: hand washing, covering one’s mouth for sneezes and coughs, stay home if ill, and don’t panic. We can do this! In other news, on Sunday we all “sprang forward.” ...
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Undeclared hazmat? The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is on the case.
Say you need a replacement 420 Wh battery for your electric snowblower. Instead of ordering a new one from the manufacturer, you find an online retailer offering a used battery at a discount. When the battery arrives, you—being somewhat knowledgeable about the rules governing transport of lithium batteries—are surprised to see it’s in a plain,...
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DG Digest: DOT announces $1 billion in infrastructure grants
The first week in March finds the nation confronting a potentially serious health threat in the form of the new COVD-19 coronavirus. The biggest positive actions we as regulatory and EHS professionals can take to help our fellow employees is to encourage everyone to not panic, and to employ common sense precautions like thorough hand...
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What is master data, and why is it so important for hazmat transport?
What exactly are you shipping? Simple question, right? Not at all. It turns out a lot of shippers don’t know exactly what they’re shipping, and that lack of knowledge has a profound ripple effect on the entire supply chain. I’m talking here about master data—complete, detailed information about a product’s components, makeup, dimensions and origins....
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DG Digest: while not changing regulations, Transport Canada to reform the language of TDGR
Winter slogs on as we approach the end of February and look forward to March, which, according to tradition, “comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.” Let’s all hope so! Meanwhile, the week just concluded saw a number of actions of interest, with both national and international actions taking place that...
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7 misconceptions about attending the Dangerous Goods Symposium
Have you ever attended Labelmaster’s Dangerous Goods Symposium? If so, here’s what you need to know right now: The 2020 Dangerous Goods Symposium will be held September 9-11 in Chicago You’ll save $50 by registering by March 31, 2020. Now, if you’ve never attended the DG Symposium, you might have a reason or two why...
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DG Digest: FRA publishes regulation on risk reduction programs and FMCSA announces reduced fees for states
The week just ended found regulatory activity about normal—several actions of interest including several Special Permit actions from PHMSA and a big new final rule from the FRA. In another story that is not currently receiving heavy US media coverage, our Canadian neighbors are experiencing an environmental and political dispute that has had a significant impact...
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Hazmat Quizmaster: Do you know how to ship lithium batteries by air?
KEEP YOUR LITHIUM BATTERY SHIPMENTS COMPLIANT Lithium batteries are hazmat, and the regulations for shipping them change often. Keep your shipments safe and compliant with a complete line of lithium battery resources from Labelmaster. Make sure your shipments are safe and in complete compliance with a full line of solutions from Labelmaster—a full-service provider of goods and services for hazardous materials...
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DG Digest: In response to derailments, Transport Canada orders ‘Key Trains’ to limit speed to 25 mph
We begin the second week of February with Transport Canada taking center stage on the regulatory scene in a major action directed at addressing train operating safety following a pair of recent oil train derailments. Find the details on that below. A variety of other and somewhat less minor—but still interesting–actions rounded out the week’s...
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How to ship lithium batteries by air—in 2020 and beyond
Since 2016, when the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) implemented drastically more restrictive global regulations on shipping lithium batteries by air, shippers have adapted and done their best to comply. Yet many still find the regulations confusing and have questions about what they can and cannot do. In March 2019, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials...
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DG Digest: OSHA seeks renewal of HAZWOPER program and UNECE published a Corrigendum to the EU ADR
It’s the first week of February and regardless of whether the trusty groundhog did or didn’t see his shadow where you live on Sunday, it’s likely that you and your employees are still facing a considerable stretch of winter weather before things start to brighten up and get warmer. Be sure your team stays focused...
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DOT PHMSA Hosts First Lithium Battery Air Safety Advisory Committee Meeting
Last week DOT PHMSA hosted the first Lithium Battery Air Safety Advisory Committee meeting at DOT Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and I had the pleasure of the attending the meeting alongside Labelmaster Services V.P. of Consulting, Pia Jala. Lithium cell and battery production throughout the world continues to grow at an astonishing rate due to...
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DG Digest: FMCSA extends IRC on highway routing of hazmat, FRA sets drug & alcohol test rates for 2020
Last Saturday marked the Chinese New Year; the year 4718 in the Chinese calendar and the Year of the Rat, which renews the twelve year cycle of the Chinese Zodiac. In Chinese culture, rats represent the positive traits of quickness, cleverness, and the ability to thrive even under difficult circumstances. The Labelmaster family wishes all...
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Have a hazmat question? Have a phone? Call our DG Regulations Hotline!
Wouldn’t it be great if, the next time you had a question about Dangerous Goods transport—any question at all—you could just pick up the phone and ask an expert? You can. And it’s free. Just call the Labelmaster Regulatory Hotline. Call 1.800.621.5808—8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Central time, Monday through Friday—and ask to speak to...
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DG Digest: PHMSA issues IRC on portable tanks and IBCs; FRA is proposing changes to train brake inspections
Mid-January finds the regulatory world getting busy again as the nation weathers fierce winter weather. The UNECE has a pair of very interesting published revisions to important documents; we cover that below, along with a variety of other actions. Meanwhile it’s the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday; the Labelmaster family wishes...
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Why it’s absolutely essential to choose the right hazmat placard
True fact: No one ever got promoted for choosing the right hazmat placard. Choosing the wrong placard, however, could have negative consequences for anyone’s job prospects. Think about it. Every Dangerous Goods shipment represents a significant investment in time and materials, and it could be part of a supply chain impacting several organizations. Yet one...
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DG Digest: IMO releases corrigendum for the 39th IMDG Code
It’s the end of the first full week of the New Year and as far as such things go, it was relatively quiet, although the IMO released a newsworthy corrigendum for the IMDG Code. We’ll discuss that in a bit more detail below. An FRA notice rounded out the week’s news. The country is entering...
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DG Digest: ICAO/IATA and ADR react to the pandemic, FRA seeks comments on quarterly PTC form