Hazmat question
 

I was just looking at the BOL before I pull out of this T/S to go deliver, and I realized attached to it are 2 DOT HazMat exemption permits.

The one states as follows:

This special permit authorizes the manufacture, mark, sale and use of a non-DOT specification steel water pump system tank with no outside diameter not exceeding 26 inches for the transportation of the materials listed in paragraph 6. This special permit provides no relief from any Hazardous Materials Regulation (HMR) other then as specifically stated herein.

The safety analyses performed in development of this special permit only considered the hazards and risks associated with transportation in commerce.

Regulations from which exempted: 49 CFR, Subparts D and E, of part 172 with the exception of $ 172.304, which requires that the name of the contents be marked on the outside packaging; and a portion of $.173.306(g)(1), except as specified herein.

Hazardous materials

Air, Compressed 2.2 UN1002 N/A
Nitrogen, Compressed 2.2 UN1066 N/A

And a bunch of other texts


The other permit is nearly identical except it is for fully wrapped fiber-reinforced pastic composite cylinders containing compressed air.

What exactly does this mean to me as a NON hazmat driver?

The first thing you need to know, before you ever leave the Shipper, is if the units in question are labeled for haz-mat. IF they have hazardous material labels on them, then you need to ask why. IF the units do contain hazardous material, OR did contain hazardous material but have been emptied, you as the driver should be informed of such, upon loading. Especially with the nitrogen. Nitrogen inside an enclosed space, even a dry van, could be fatal. Nitrogen displaces oxygen.

Depending on the quantity each of the units is capable of holding, if either can hold a "reportable quantity", you are required to have the appropriate placards in place on the exterior (all 4 sides) of the trailer which contains the units. If the quantities each unit can hold are less than "reportable quantities", then you are not required to placard the exterior of the unit, but you should still be aware of the substances that may be present.

The fines, per violation, are stiff.

After reading the posted sections Matt, you are OK, if those units you are hauling, do not hold reportable quantities.

You might have got lucky this time Matt. But for future reference, you should always read your BOL's, to make yourself aware of what the shipper has loaded onto you. Those permits should have been attached to the Shippers BOL, should have been labeled (tabbed or tagged) for easy reference, and should have been above or before, any carrier paperwork.

Yeah I was never told by the shipper. All the paperwork was paper clipped together with the BOLs on top, no tabs or anything. That is why I was shocked when I actually looked at the paperwork 10 miles away from my destination after driving 1500! I figured it just to be part of the BOL initially and I only realized it because I was looking for the address to get to the consignee.

The actual cargo are tanks used in water pump setups, such as well water, etc. They are not all that large, about the size of a propane tank for a grill. There are no labellings on the actual boxes themselves about containing hazmat.

Only the second time I have ever seen any type of hazmat paperwork with a load, the only other time I hauled a load of lighters, and the shipper told me they where hazmat and to drive as such, but non reportable so did not need placarding or hazmat endorsement. That load WAS tabbed and put on top, with safety data included and what to do and not to do.

You may want to pick up a hazmat book to keep in your truck. You can pick one up at many truck stops for a few dollars. It would be a good way to find out quickly about any potential hazmat load you may encounter.

You must have an Emergency Response Guide book in the truck preferably in the drivers door pocket when hauling hazmat also.

Looks to me that if the bills say "not exempt" then the packages should have been marked if they were a reportable quantity and if a tank then the tanks themselves should have been marked.

If I didnt have a HM endorsement, and i do, and saw bills like that then I would not sign the bills or move my truck from the door no matter what the shipper said. I'd ask them about it, why the tanks werent labeled, if I needed placards, etc.. and then pick up the phone and call the safety dept at my company and read, verbatim, what the bills said. They will know. If I had any further doubts the shipper would take that crap off my truck and I would not haul it. It's you butt on the line if your wrong and the penalties are not to be messed with with haz-mat.

That legal crap on the bills means not a lot to this dumb trucker. I've got no idea what it says. However, if anything on the BOL says HAZ-MAT I'm calling someone. Period.

PS: This actually happened to me only once because the shipper is liable also for stiff fines. I got into something like this and just wasnt sure. Called the company up and they said you bet that shipper made a mistake and they ( my company) called them up and told them to either give me placards or take it off of their truck. It was an honest mistake on the shippers part and they corrected the bills and gave me the placards. The time to find out you need them is not at the north bound toll booths in Baltimore when DOT is stopping trucks at the tolls as they come out of the tunnel.