from here to there: topics in transportation Steven CharleS hunt President, ShipMate, Inc. Two Steps Closer to Harmonization Two significant milestones toward global harmonization were Notable proposed amendments to reached recently. The U.S. Dept. of Transportation (DOT) has the TDG Regulations, would include eliminated the Consumer Commodity, ORM-D-AIR marking as of the use of the “overpack” mark, relax Jan.1, 2013, and Transport Canada (TC) has published its proposed some of the placarding requirements for amendments to the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations certain classes of dangerous goods in quantities (TDGR) in the Dec.1, 2012 issue of Canada Gazette. of 500kg or less, and introduce the new limited quantity and marine pollutant markings which are consistent with the UN Recommen- Elimination of the ORM-D-AIR Marking dations for the Transport of Dangerous Goods (UN Recommenda- The first milestone is an important step toward the international tions) and the U.S. DOT’s Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) harmonization of limited quantities with respect to marking and in Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), subchapter C. labeling. The elimination of ORM-D-AIR marking was first con- These would facilitate movements of dangerous goods transported templated in the 1980s, but it was not until DOT’s Final Rule HM- under the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code, 215K, published on Jan. 19, 2011, that the deadline for the use of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Technical the marking was finally known. DOT Final Rulemaking HM-215K Instructions and 49 CFR. The proposed rules provide a transitional also includes a deadline for the use of the Consumer Commodity, period to allow the “old” Limited Quantity (hollow diamond with ORM-D marking on Jan.1, 2014. UN number) marking to be used until May 1, 2015, so that shippers Although the U.S. DOT’s Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety can liquidate their pre-marked stocks. Administration (PHMSA) has long recognized the need to au- In its announcement, Transport Canada stated that “…through- thorize exceptions for the transport of certain types of hazardous out informal consultation, commenters have expressed a desire to materials, described as limited quantities, or consumer commodities, harmonize the definition and the labeling and marking require- there was considerable resistance from the industry, when the elimi- ments with international recommendations and U.S. regulations. nation of this classification was first proposed. However, in recent The Directorate agrees with the commenters and proposes to years, there has been considerable domestic interest in pursuing harmonize the overpack definition and marking requirements with further harmonization with international standards. Many realized international recommendations and with the requirements of 49 that the use of the ORM-D marking was more of an obstruction CFR. The industry would greatly benefit from this proposed har- to international commerce because the U.S. was the only country monization, which is consistent with one of the objectives of the that used this classification. Although dual marking (ORM-D and Regulatory Cooperation Council, namely to develop smarter and Limited Quantity) was authorized, it is confusing to those that may more effective approaches to regulation to enhance economic com- re-offer these goods overseas. petitiveness.” By eliminating the ORM-D classification, PHMSA believes that Currently, limited quantity shipments of hazardous materials (e.g., transportation safety and efficiencies can be increased, ultimately aerosols) shipped to and within Canada may be marked with the resulting in savings to the shipper. U.S. DOT’s Hazardous Materials new limited quantity marking because their provisions in the TDGR Regulations were also changed with respect to limited quantities to which allow the use of these markings on packages that originate vacate the need for shipping papers when transported by domestic in the U.S. or which conform to the most current versions of the highway and rail. ICAO Technical Instructions, the IMDG Code or 49 CFR (see Essentially, there is no difference between the ORM-D marking TDGR, part 1, section 1.9, reproduced below). and the new Limited Quantity marking, except that the classic 1.9 Use of the Most Recent Version of the ICAO Technical Instructions, ORM-D marking will be replaced with the hollow diamond with the IMDG Code or 49 CFR black points. It is important to note, however, that limited quanti- ties of dangerous goods intended for transport by air must be marked A person who is required or permitted by these Regulations to comply and labeled with the hazard warning label, proper shipping name, with all or a portion of the ICAO Technical Instructions, the IMDG identification number and the new limited quantity “Y” marking. documents rather than the version named in the table to paragraphCode or 49 CFR may comply with the most recent version of those 1.3(2)(f) and in the definitions in section 1.4. Proposed Amendments to the TDGR The second significant development this past month is that Trans- A copy of the proposed amendments is available for download port Canada (the DOT equivalent in Canada) has proposed amend- at Transport Canada’s website, or by pasting the following URL ments to the Transport of Dangerous Goods Regulations (TDGR) into your web browser’s address bar: http://www.gazette.gc.ca/ for Dangerous Goods Safety Marks. rp-pr/p2/2012-12-05/pdf/g2-14625.pdf. Spray January 2013 Spray 25
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To see the actual publication please follow the link above