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Regulation Updates

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Current updates, changes and proposals from all major hazardous materials and dangerous goods regulatory organizations and government bodies.

October 2, 2008

PHMSA/DOT Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) 73 FR 57281: PHMSA-2005-22356
Hazardous Materials Regulations: Enhanced Enforcement Authority Procedures

Summary: PHMSA is proposing to issue rules implementing certain inspection, investigation, and enforcement authority conferred on the Secretary of Transportation by the Hazardous Materials Transportation Safety and Security Reauthorization Act of 2005. The proposed rules would establish procedures for: (1) The inspection and opening of packages to identify undeclared or non-compliant shipments; (2) the temporary detention and inspection of suspicious packages; and (3) the issuance of emergency orders (restrictions, prohibitions, recalls, and out-of-service orders) to address unsafe conditions or practices posing an imminent hazard. These new inspection and enforcement procedures will enhance DOT's ability to respond immediately and effectively to conditions or practices that pose serious threats to life, property, or the environment.

October 2, 2008

PHMSA/DOT Final Rule 73 FR 57001: PHMSA-2008-0227 (HM-244A)
Hazardous Materials Regulations: Minor Editorial Corrections and Clarifications

Effective Date: 10/1/2008
Summary: This final rule corrects editorial errors, makes minor regulatory changes and, in response to requests for clarification, improves the clarity of certain provisions in the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR). The intended effect of this rule is to enhance the accuracy and reduce misunderstandings of the regulations. The amendments contained in this rule are non-substantive changes.

August 4, 2008

PHMSA/DOT Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM): HM-215J

July 31, 2008—Docket No. PHMSA-2008-0005 has been published.

SUMMARY: PHMSA proposes to amend the Hazardous Materials Regulations to maintain alignment with international standards by incorporating various amendments, including changes to proper shipping names, hazard classes, packing groups, special provisions, packaging authorizations, air transport quantity limitations, and vessel stowage requirements. These revisions are necessary to harmonize the Hazardous Materials Regulations with recent changes to 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 United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods.

July 14, 2008

UPDATE – BDP International: BDP External Advisory – 8 July '08, issue 7 »

Presentation regarding the 2008 Beijing Olympics

Chinese Transportation and Production DG Restrictions

Some water carriers are reporting that they recently received correspondence from their Asian operations that indicate that the materials indicated below will not be accepted at the Port of Shanghai from July 20 - Aug 31, 2008. The US DOT notes that there are on-going discussions with the Chinese government representatives and they hope to be able to continue to make progress with narrowing the list of materials that will be restricted.

Due to Olympic Games in China, the Shanghai Port Authority will not accept the dangerous goods cargo listed below from July 20 - Aug 31:

Class 1
Class 5.2
Class 6
Class 7
HYDROGEN PEROXIDE
ACETONE
SULPHURIC ACID
NITRIC ACID
HYDROCHLORIC ACID
AMMONIUM NITRATE

Other cargo will be decided on a case by case basis.

June 18, 2008

IATA Releases Addendum II to 49th Edition Dangerous Goods Regulations

This 4-page addendum includes updates to sections 2, 4, 5, and Packing Instruction 200. All changes highlighted in yellow.

Download now »
52KB PDF

ICAO Releases Addendum II to 2007-2008 Edition Technical Instructions

This 2-page addendum contains 11 updates to the publication.

Download now »
24KB PDF

May 5, 2008

PHMSA/DOT Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM): HM-208G

May 5, 2008—Docket No. PHMSA-2008-0010 has been published.

SUMMARY: This rule proposes to amend the statutorily-mandated registration and fee assessment program for persons who transport, or offer for transportation, certain categories and quantities of hazardous materials. For those registrants not qualifying as a small business or not-for-profit organization, we are proposing to increase the fee from $975 (plus a $25 administrative fee) to $2,475 (plus a $25 administrative fee) for registration year 2009-2010 and following years. The proposed fee increase is necessary to fund the national Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) grants program at approximately $28,000,000 in accordance with the Administration's Fiscal Year 2008 budget.

May 1, 2008

PHMSA/DOT Final Rule PHMSA–2006–25446 (HM–243) Published

April 21, 2008—Docket No. PHMSA–2006–25446 has been published.

SUMMARY: PHMSA is amending the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) to permit certain fuel cell cartridges and fuel cell systems designed for portable electronic devices to be transported by passengers and crew in carry-on baggage on board passenger-carrying aircraft. Fuel cell cartridges and fuel cell systems are an emerging energy technology developed to provide a more efficient, longer-lasting, and renewable power source for electrically operated equipment. This final rule prescribes regulations for transporting fuel cells containing flammable liquids, including methanol; formic acid; certain borohydride materials; or butane that meet certain performance and consumer use standards. PHMSA is issuing this final rule in cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

April 21, 2008

PHMSA/DOT Interim Final Rule PHMSA-RSPA-2004-18730 Published

April 21, 2008—Docket No. PHMSA-RSPA-2004-18730 has been published.

SUMMARY: The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, in coordination with the Federal Railroad Administration and the Transportation Security Administration, is revising the current requirements in the Hazardous Materials Regulations applicable to the safe and secure transportation of hazardous materials transported in commerce by rail. This interim final rule fulfills requirements in Section 1551 of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007.

April 1, 2008

PHMSA/DOT Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM): HM-246

April 1, 2008—NPRM HM-246 has been published. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and the Federal Railroad Administration are proposing revisions to the Federal Hazardous Materials Regulations to improve the crashworthiness protection of railroad tank cars designed to transport poison inhalation hazard materials. Specifically, we are proposing enhanced tank car performance standards for head and shell impacts; operational restrictions for trains hauling tank cars containing PIH materials; interim operational restrictions for trains hauling tank cars not meeting the enhanced performance standards; and an allowance to increase the gross weight of tank cars that meet the enhanced tank-head and shell puncture-resistance systems.

February 20, 2008

Amendment 6 to the TDG Regulations has been published by Transport Canada

February 20, 2008—Transport Canada has published the sixth amendment to the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations in Gazette II of the Canada Gazette, the official newspaper of the Government of Canada.

See the amendment in its entirety on the Canada Gazette official website.

January 28, 2008

PHMSA/DOT Final Rule HM-218D Published

January 28, 2008—Final Rule PHMSA-05-21812 (HM-218D) will be effective October 10, 2008. PHMSA is amending the Hazardous Materials Regulations to update, clarify or provide relief from certain requirements governing the classification, packaging, or labeling of hazardous materials transported in commerce. Among other provisions, PHMSA is adopting a new proper shipping name and identification number for fuel blends composed of ethanol and gasoline. In addition, PHMSA is updating references to consensus standards, revising and clarifying certain hazard communication requirements, and clarifying transportation requirements applicable to dry ice, detonator assemblies, and explosives. PHMSA is also expanding exceptions from regulation for small quantities of hazardous materials.

January 23, 2007

IMDG Amendments Entered Into Force as of January 1, 2008

This 3-page IMO briefing describes all amendments to the IMDG Code that have come into force on January 1, 2008.

January 17, 2008

European Chemicals Agency drafts fees for REACH

January 17, 2008—A draft of the EC REACH fees regulation has been made available prior to its final publication, following its agreement at a comitology meeting this past December 10. The regulation will establish the authority for ECHA to collect fees and charges for the registration of substances, updates to the registration of substances, requests for confidentiality, PPORD notifications, authorisations and appeals, and lists those fees and charges. See all the details here.

January 9, 2008

PHMSA/DOT Final Rule HM-145N Published

January 7, 2008—Final Rule PHMSA-2006-28711 (HM-145N) is now effective. The PHMSA has revised the list of hazardous substances and reportable quantities (RQs), and has also corrected errors in existing entries. Additionally, this final rule includes updates affected by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (commonly known as Superfund).

December 13, 2007

Regulations Amending the Contraventions Regulations

Schedule XV has been added to the Contraventions Regulations, originally established by the Contraventions Act in October, 1992. Schedule XV covers offenses subject to the Trasportations of Dangerous Goods (TDG) Regulations, and their applicable fines.

See the official publication on the Canada Gazette website for complete information.

November 29, 2007

UN Releases 2nd Corrigendum to French 15th Edition Model Regulations

Download this 6-page update to the French UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods – Model Regulations, 15th Edition.
32KB PDF

November 1, 2007

IMO IMDG Code 2006 Edition (Amendment 33-06) Addendum

This 8-page addendum contains updates and errata for the 2006 edition of the IMO's IMDG Code.

Download now: English 132KB PDF | French 136KB PDF

October 25, 2007

15th Revised Edition of the UN Model Regulations Now Available in PDF Format

October 25, 2007—The UN ECE website has published a PDF of each section of the UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Model Regulations, (15th revised edition).

View and download the PDFs from the UN ECE website.

October 24, 2007

PHMSA Announces Strategic Plan for 2007-2011

October 24, 2007—The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has developed a strategic plan to guide the agency's activities through 2011. The agency has established five major goals in the areas of safety, environmental protection, reliability, global connectivity, and preparedness and response. Specifically, PHMSA seeks to reduce the risk of harm to people and the environment caused by the transportation of hazardous materials, help to maintain and improve the reliability of systems that deliver hazardous materials to support the U.S. economy and public safety, harmonize and standardize requirements for hazardous materials transportation internationally and facilitate efficient and safe transportation through ports of entry and the supply chain, and reduce the consequences and harm done after a pipeline or HazMat failure has occurred.

Download the 2007-2011 PHMSA Strategic Plan.
3.8MB PDF

October 1, 2007

PHMSA/DOT Final Rule HM-244 Now Effective

October 1, 2007—Final Rule PHMSA-2007-29245 (HM-244) is now effective. This final rule covers editorial errors, minor regulatory changes, and clarification issues.

October 1, 2007

PHMSA/DOT Final Rule HM-215F Now Effective

October 1, 2007—Final Rule PHMSA-2005-23141 (HM-215F) is now effective. This revision to the U.S. DOT 49 CFR Regulations is primarily concerned with updating the requirements for international shipments, and improving reciprocity.

August 21, 2007

DOT Guidance for the Safe Transportation of Recalled Lithium Batteries

Prepared by the PHMSA and the FAA, this document outlines the recommended procedures for manufacturers and distributors issuing a lithium battery recall, and how consumers should follow such a recall.

Download the 2-page guide to ensure safe handling of recalled lithium batteries.
216KB PDF

August 9, 2007

OSHA Hopes to Adopt the GHS Standard by December of 2008

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration plans to release a final rule implementing the Globally Harmonized System for Chemical Classification and Labeling (GHS) by December 2008, as reported by an OSHA official on August 9. This rule adopting GHS would amend the agency's hazard communication standard.

The projected date was announced by Maureen O'Donnell, a senior industrial hygienist with OSHA, during a two-day, ANSI-organized conference—Action and Reaction: Developing a Sustainable Approach to Emerging Chemical Issues on Aug. 9-10. An extensive, but unspecified amount of time would be provided to phase in the new GHS standards.

Download the PowerPoint presentation (in PDF format) from the conference.
660KB PDF

August 2, 2007

IATA Releases Addendum to 48th Edition Dangerous Goods Regulations

Download the 14-page addendum now to review all changes made to the 48th edition IATA DGR. All changes highlighted in yellow.
288KB PDF

August 1, 2007

ICAO Releases Addendum/Corrigendum to 2007-2008 Technical Instructions

Download the 15-page addendum/corrigendum and ensure you're aware of all the newest changes and errata from ICAO.
212KB PDF

July 2007

UN Releases Corrigendum to 15th Edition Model Regulations

Download this 5-page update to the UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods – Model Regulations, 15th Edition.

July 2, 2007

PHMSA/DOT Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)

PHMSA-2006-26322 (HM-206F): Revision of Requirements for Emergency Response Telephone Numbers

June 8, 2007

WHMIS CIC Reviews Implementation of the GHS

Meeting of March 15, 2007: The WHMIS Current Issues Committee discussed the work completed to date regarding implementation of the GHS.
104KB PDF, English and French

May 3, 2007

Two PHMSA/DOT Final Rulemakings

PHMSA-2005-23141 (HM-215F): Hazardous Materials: Revision and Reformatting of Requirements for the Authorization To Use International Transport Standards and Regulations

PHMSA-2006-25589 (HM-208F): Hazardous Materials Transportation; Miscellaneous Revisions to Registration and Fee Assessment Program

April 30, 2007

Errata released for the French IMDG Code, 2006 Edition

Download from IMO's website. 2-page, 28KB PDF

View errata for all IMDG Code editions.

April 2, 2007

DHS Releases Comprehensive Regulations for Securing High Risk Chemical Facilities

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has issued an important press release regarding the American chemical industry. Read more »

Download the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Interim Final Rule. 226-page, 518KB PDF