Shipping Papers 101: Introduction to shipping papers

Hazmat shipping papers come in differant sizes, shapes and forms, but it's what's on the shipping papers and where you keep them in your vehicle that's important.

There are no rules on the form a shipping paper can take so long as it contains the required information. Some shippers use a standard bill of lading, others  use a shipping paper that lists all the products they carry, and the driver puts an 'X' in the box of what he/she has onboard. In the case of  most petroleum oriented carriers (gas, diesel, propane) a laminated card that has the proper shipping description on one side, and the emergency reponse information on the other side is used.

The presence of hazardous material

Shipping papers must be easily recognized as hazmat shipping papers and the hazardous material on those shipping papers must be readily identified.

Shipping papers can be recognized by:

Tabbing: A tab placed on the paperwork to call attention to the presence of hazmat. This is the most common practice, and some carriers go a step further by also placing the shipping papers in specialy marked envelopes.

First or strategic placement:  In a large stack of paperwork, the hazmat shipping papers are placed on top of all other papers.

On the shipping papers, the hazmat should be recognized by any of three ways:

• Using an 'X' or the letters 'RQ' (RQ means Reportable Quantity. Only use this when appropriate)
• Color coding with a color that clearly contrasts with other material, for example highlighting
• Entered first; The hazmat may be the first entry before non hazmat

Description of the Hazardous Material

The description of the hazmat is the meat and potatoes of the shipping paper. This information will be used by emergency responders in the event of an accident or release to mitigate the problem.

The basic description (also referred to as the Proper Shipping Name or PSN) must be in a specific order, with no other information placed inside of it. The 4 items that go into the basic description are:

• Proper shipping name from column 2 of the 172.101 table (Acetone)
• The hazard class/division number from column 3 (class 3)
• The UN identification number (or NA number if appropriate), column 4 (UN 1090) **
• Packing group unless the material is excepted, column 5 (PG II)

So, our material on the shipping papers would look like this:

Acetone, 3, UN1090, PG II

** Note that by January 1, 2013 the basic description order will change, placing the UN number at the front of the description. Here's how it should look:

UN1090, Acetone, 3, PG II

The UN number has simply been moved from the third position in the the order, to being first of the order. Between now and January of 2013, either way is acceptable, however its strongly encouraged that you make the transition to the new basic description sequence. Here's a link to read the 171.14 transitional provision.

Total quantity of hazmat

The next information requirement for shipping papers is the total quantity of the material and  unit of measurement, and the number and type of packages. This helps an inspector and responders determine whether a package is bulk or or non-bulk. So for our example above, the shipping paper may look like this:

10 boxes UN1090, Acetone, 3, PG II, 100lbs

If the material are in totes, (or IBC's) the description may look like this:

2 totes UN1090, Acetone, 3, PG II,      600lbs

For a cargo tank, the shipping papers may look this:

1 cargo tank UN 1203, Gasoline, 3, PG II

The total quantity and unit of measure of the material that's covered by the description can appear before or after the basic description, or both before and after the basic description. Just make sure that the basic description has no information placed in it. Here's a couple more examples:

Right:

10 boxes 100lbs UN 1090, Acetone, 3, PGII

UN 1090, Acetone, 3, PGII   10 boxes, 100lbs

Wrong:

10 boxes, UN 1090, Acetone, 3, 100lbs, PG II

Emergency response telephone number

Somewhere on your shipping papers, you should have an emergency response telephone number that is clearly visible and monitored at all times while the product is in transportation or stored incident to transportation. The emergency response telephone number should not be confused with emergency response information (an ERG guide or MSDS), they are two separate requirements.

The person answering the phone should be knowledgable of the the hazmat being shipped, or has immediate access to someone who possesses that information. Answering services or answering machines do not meet this requirement! The number can be an organization that has current information on the material. A common example of this would be CHEMTREC.

Shipping paper accessibility

Shipping papers and emergency response information must be readily accessible in case of an accident, release or an inspection. Readily accessible means that the paperwork must be within the drivers reach while he/she is restrained by a lap belt.  In addition, it must be visible to a person entering the driver's compartment or be placed in a holder mounted to the inside of the door on the driver's side.

If a trailer is separated from the power unit, the shipping papers and emergency response info or carrier telephone number must be with the trailer (other than the consignee's or carriers facility) unless the vehicle is displaying proper UN or NA identification numbers.