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Hazardous Materials Awareness Saves Money & Lives

by Sue York, President Ewing Irrigation

Distributors beware! There is a silent danger in your warehouse stock - a potential killer of both profits and people! Ignorance, negligence, or indifference toward hazardous materials (Hazmat) regulations can destroy profits or, worst of all, even human lives. Few irrigation distributors are aware of the dangers, both financial and physical, that a simple shipping oversight or the failure to conduct Hazmat training can have on their business.

Irrigation distributors are particularly at risk, not because they carry a wide variety of hazardous materials, but because they don't! Their relative inexperience with materials considered "hazardous" by government agencies can have a dulling effect on their sensitivity to Hazmat issues, including the shipping of Hazmat in commerce. This lack of attention to Hazmat issues can have a major impact on your company's bottom line. It is essential that our industry ensure that its members are aware of, and comply with, the regulations addressing the transportation of Hazmat.

Companies and persons with only limited awareness of Hazmat issues often tend to view the concerns, controls, and restrictions around these materials as really only meant for "other" businesses, such as those with high-tech or chemical-intensive operations. In fact, our profession often requires the use of products that contain materials that can emit vapors, are flammable, or can be harmful if mishandled by untrained persons. Although we may be keenly aware of the hazardous nature of these products in our daily use of these items, we sometimes forget as we pack and ship these materials to our customers. Even everyday items such as aerosol cans, gels, and adhesives contain solvents, irritants, and/or flammable materials, which are subject to regulations when offered for transportation in commerce.

A CASE STUDY

Ewing Irrigation & Industrial Plastics of Phoenix, AZ sells landscape, irrigation, and industrial plastics products out of 75 locations located throughout 11 southwestern states. With such extensive operations, Ewing knows the importance of consistent and clear communications between headquarters and remote locations. Also, although not a major purveyor of any hazardous materials, Ewing employees involved in packing and shipping receive training in the handling and transport of hazardous materials consistent with federal regulations. Despite this awareness, and the company's extensive safety training and cataloging of Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), that are required for products that contain hazardous materials, Ewing recently learned that even the most conscientious of employees can make mistakes. Ewing also learned that the undeclared shipment of what an employee presumed to be a benign product could result in an enforcement action by a Department of Transportation (DOT) agency that could result in the imposition of a civil penalty of thousands of dollars.

In Ewing's case, the company had recently taken on a new line of pond-liner fabric, which, when installed, is held together by a special adhesive. The adhesive and its primer, Firestone Splice Adhesive W56-358-7058 and Firestone Quick Prime W56-358-7042, are sold in one-gallon metal cans. These products are flammable liquids and are subject to strict federal regulations regarding their shipment. In fact, there are indications of the hazardous nature on each can: a red "FLAMMABLE LIQUID" warning label and a IUN1 1331 identification number that indicates the product is regulated for transportation.

When the new supplier for these products was contracted, the purchasing department assumed that the manufacturer would immediately send MSDS sheets to each of the stocking branches. However, the products and promotional materials arrived before the MSDS sheets did.

Shortly after the products began arriving at Ewing, a remote branch in Utah called its central warehouse in California with a request for a can of the adhesive and a can of the primer. The central shipping manager was out sick, and an employee who had not received Hazmat training took the call.

Because he did not have an MSDS sheet on the materials, he erroneously thought he could ship the adhesive and accompanying primer without any special handling. The warning signs on the cans went unheeded by the employee, who packed the two cans in a cardboard box without any indication that a regulated hazardous material was inside.

In this case, had the employee received the hazardous materials training, he would have recognized that the products were hazardous materials from the flammable liquid warning labels on the cans. But because the employee handling the shipment was not trained, he assumed they were not regulated simply because he did not have an MSDS sheet. Also because the employee had not been trained, he failed to properly package the material.

The primer leaked out of the metal can that had been improperly packaged lying sideways, rather than with the lid upright. An air carrier employee at the sort center in Ohio, where the shipment had been flown on its way to delivery in Utah, spotted the leak, thus averting potential disaster. However, the air carrier was forced to evacuate about ten people at the sort center because of the noxious odor.

The air carrier reported the incident to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the DOT agency that enforces the Hazmat regulations when air transportation is involved. The FAA cited Ewing with 16 violations of the Hazardous Materials Regulations [49 Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) Parts 171-185]. The Federal hazardous materials transportation law [49 United States Code R 5101 et seq.] provides for a civil penalty ranging from $250 to $27,500 for each violation cited. The statute also provides for criminal penalties, including fines and imprisonment up to five years.

Fortunately, this spillage of a flammable liquid did not cause any injuries. Any frequent flier would be sensitive to and very troubled by this possibility. The incident has served as a real wake-up call to Ewing, and should also to our entire industry. In this customer-centric and market-driven world, it is all too easy to get caught up in the frenzy of quick response and rapid deployment. While great value is attached to proactive, can-do service, it is absolutely critical that distributors not lose sight of the serious need for responsible and proper training in all areas of safety, including hazardous materials transportation training.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Violations of the Federal Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) can result in severe penalties of up to $27,500 per violation, and often multiple violations can occur with just a single shipment, due to the various requirements to: mark the shipment with the proper shipping name and UN identification number; label the shipment with the proper label for the contents, as well as orientation arrows for liquid shipments or a "CARGO AIRCRAFT ONLY" label when the material cannot be carried on a passenger-carrying aircraft; use correct specification packaging; declare the Hazmat to the carrier; and to certify that the contents are properly classed and in condition for shipment. In addition, violations occur when, for example, there is a release of the material to the environment, quantity limitations are exceeded, or there was a failure to train the persons handling the shipment.

WHAT CAN BE DONE?

The take-home message should be: "Safety first... then great service." Specific lessons can be learned from the Ewing case study: 1) Purchasing must take responsibility for seeing that MSDS sheets get to each stocking and selling location before any product is shipped. 2) Since any employee may be called upon to send out a shipment, all employees should receive training in hazardous materials safety and shipping immediately when they are hired or moved into a position where they can affect hazardous materials transportation safety by performing any function related to the shipment of a regulated material. The HMR requires this training within 90 days of employment, and the employee must be directly supervised prior to being trained.

COMMON QUESTIONS

What items are subject to the HMR? The HMR contains extensive lists of regulated materials and substances. You can look at the 49 C.F.R. 172.101 Hazardous Materials Table and the listing of hazardous substances that immediately follows the Table to understand how many regulated materials there are. Some are only regulated for shipment by air, while most are regulated, with some exceptions, for any kind of transportation. The most common groups of regulated materials are flammable or corrosive liquids; flammable/nonflammable and poison gases; pressurized containers (including aerosol cans) that contain flammable materials, such as aerosol spray paints; poisons such as pesticides or other toxic products; explosives, including fireworks; oxidizers, including compressed oxygen and oxygen generators; and materials which may spontaneously combust or that are dangerous when wet because of the possible chemical reactions. Commonly shipped hazardous materials include household products such as paints, bleaches, cleaning compounds; instruments that contain mercury, such as barometers or thermometers; cigarette lighters that contain butane, a flammable gas; machine parts or engines that contain gasoline, adhesives, or solvents; and automobile parts such as batteries, shocks, and air bag components.

Won't the Carriers, such as United Parcel Sen/ice or FedEx, take care of the shipment for you? NO! Package shipment companies can, in many instances, assist you in preparing packages of hazardous items for shipment. However, in order to do so, the carrier must know what is contained within the package that you are shipping. Failure to inform the carrier can result in your being held liable for an undeclared shipment of hazardous materials, with possible imposition of the penalties discussed above.

Remember, your name and address are on the package or shipping papers, and you are considered to be the "shipper" whenever you cause a shipment to be transported in commerce. If you have any questions as to whether an item is hazardous, or restricted by quantity, you may refer to the HMR itself, or direct your question to the manufacturer, the carrier, or a Hazmat consultant. It is the responsibility of the shipper to properly class, describe, package, mark, and label the shipment. You must also certify that the shipment is properly classed, described, packaged, marked and labeled, and in proper condition for transportation according to applicable government (and/or international) regulations, and the material being shipped is within limitations for either passenger or cargo aircraft. Even if you depend upon a third party to ensure compliance, you may still incur liability for any violations of the HMR.

Why are these items regulated for transportation? As almost every one of us flies on commercial airlines to locations throughout the world, we are all concerned about the safety of the aircraft we fly on. As demonstrated by the tragedy of the ValuJet accident in Florida in May 1996, undeclared hazardous materials in aircraft cargo can have devastating effects. What we may consider to be only common, everyday items can be very dangerous when they are not properly prepared for transportation by air. Because of the extreme variations in pressure and temperature in aircraft cargo holds, improperly packaged items could leak, emit noxious fumes, or ignite. This presents a danger to aircraft crews, passengers, and those persons handling these shipments at airports and warehouses. However, if properly prepared and handled, these items may be transported safely, although some may only be transported by rail or motor carrier.

Where can I obtain more information? To begin, check with the product manufacturer and/or the company providing your business with hazardous materials training and manuals. In addition, the primary authority on hazardous materials transportation safety is the dot's office of Hazardous Materials Safety, which is under the Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA). RSPA writes and interprets all regulations promulgated under the Federal hazardous materials transportation law. RSPA's Hazardous Materials Information Center can be contacted at 1-800-467-4922.

The major freight and package carriers often provide excellent guidance and advice, as well as limited hazardous materials shipping information and materials in conjunction with their shipping seminars. The following toll-free customer service numbers may also be helpful:

Federal Express Corporation, 1-800-463-5559.

United Parcel Service, 1-800-742-5877 DHL, 1-800-225-5545 Airborne Express, 1-800-247-2676 Links to the regulations (49 C.F.R. Parts 100-185) and DOT clarification letters can be accessed at www.text-trieve.com/dotrspa. The Aerosafety website at www.avlaw.com provides a searchable MSDS database with links to additional MSDS databases as well as other Hazmat information. The FAA provides Hazmat transportation information at its Civil Aviation Security Dangerous Goods Program site at http://cas.faa.gov/cas/dgp.htm including informational bulletins relative to specific materials.

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