According to the United States Department of Transportation over four-billion tons of hazardous materials are shipped in the US each year. While much of this is bulk shipment via truck or rail containers, at some point a significant percentage of this massive number is converted into individual shipments for delivery to the point of use. Whether it’s household or industrial cleaning materials, insect spray, paint or any of a variety of other materials deemed hazardous, many find their way into a paperboard package of some sort.
The rules and regulations governing the packaging and shipment of HazMat materials change often. Keeping up to date on the latest issue are important to you and your customers. Noncompliance in HazMat packaging can result in reduced safety, costly fines and legal fees, lost sales and, in severe cases, even criminal charges.
Did you know that there is a new CC-ORM-D label and while you can use the new diamond label now, its mandatory usage has been pushed back until 2020?
The marking of HazMat material containers is as important as the specifications of the materials use to produce container. Improperly marked container, even if it’s accidental, can result in hefty fines that may levied against you, your customer and potentially anyone associated with the production, packaging or shipment of the goods. This is just one of the reasons it’s important to us, as packaging providers, to stay up to date with the changes in the rules and regulations. You never want a USDOT official to explain that’s it your responsibility to stay on top of changes and not theirs to inform you. If it gets to that point it’s too late and whether it’s fines, re-running orders, or customer confidence… It’s going to cost you.
Perhaps the most important aspect of the HazMat container is structural integrity. It’s ability to “contain” its contents throughout its shipping, storage and end use life cycle.
Two significant paper properties for UN HazMat corrugated are a very narrow variation range in basis weights, and a maximum Cobb absorption weight gain? Both of these characteristics can be difficult to control.
For compliance, strong, solid or double-faced corrugated fiberboard must be used, appropriate to the capacity and intended use of the box. The water resistance of the outer surface must be such that the increase in mass, as determined in a test carried out over a period of 30 minutes by the Cobb method of determining water absorption, is not greater than 155 grams per square meter (0.0316 pounds per square foot) – see ISO 535. Most of the design requirements for fiberboard boxes can be found in 49CFR, Part 178.
AICC is offering two valuable products to help you learn more about HazMat training, design, labeling, storage and shipping, UN Certification Testing, and more. A webinar Hazardous Materials, What the Boxmaker Needs to Know, and our new publication AICC Hazmat Guide for Corrugated Packaging Manufacturers (second edition).
Presented by Maryann Jashinske, President of Package Engineering Solutions, LLC – Hazardous Materials, What the Boxmaker Needs to Know takes place September 12, 2013 – 11:30 am (E). This hour-long webinar provides and overview the latest rules, regulations and specifications governing the packaging and transportation of hazardous materials. Webinar registration is $250.00USD and includes a copy of the AICC Hazmat Guide for Corrugated Packaging Manufacturers (second edition). Individual copies may be ordered through the AICC Store www.aiccbox.org/store for $125.00/copy.
This valuable publication from AICC offers a realm of information covering Hazardous Materials packaging including detailed explanations of testing protocols, updated examples of approval letters, and a more logical, user friendly flow of information.
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