Hazardous Materials

The 2015 IFC section 312.3 now provides performance criteria for vehicle barriers instead of prescriptive design that was missing an impact velocity…. Membership Required You must be a member to access this content.View Membership LevelsAlready a member? Log in here...

Yesterday morning around 3:30 am, hazmat crews detonated explosives and ignited the flammable contents of two tank cars, one was propane and one was butane, involved in a train derailment in MN. The explosions were designed to pierce the hulls of two cars, one carrying propane, the other butane.  Incident Command determined that the “vent…...

This article is intended to walk us through the DOT requirements for UNLOADING LPG and NH3 tanker trucks.  In the DOT requirements covered in this article, we will see items that mirror OSHA’s PSM and EPA’s RMP requirements for DOCUMENTING Safety Systems and their intended functions.  The material covered here should be incorporated into all…...

Fire and Building Code Officials are likely seeing the new Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) and new Safety Data Sheets with new chemical hazard pictograms. This ICC FACT SHEET is intended to provide Fire and Building Code Officials information relative to the modified OSHA Hazardous Communications Standard (HazCom) and address the potential impacts to…...

In my HAZMAT classes, I always ask the question:  A container of diesel fuel is at its flash point, and a gasoline container is at its flash point – an ignition source is present within the container – which container ignites first? Nearly 100% of the students will say the gasoline container and nearly 100% are…...

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The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is seeking comment on proposed revisions to the U.S. Hazardous Materials Regulations to maintain alignment with international standards. The changes – which include revisions to proper shipping names, hazard classes, packing groups, special provisions, packaging authorizations, air transport quantity limitations, and vessel stowage requirements – facilitate the…...

No, not directly, but they did issue this Safety Advisory: Possession or Use of Battery-Powered Portable Electronic Smoking Devices Around, On or While Operating a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) relating to the possession and use of battery-powered portable electronic smoking devices (e.g., e-cigarettes, e-cigs, e-cigars, e-pipes, e-hookahs, personal vaporizers, electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).  In this Safety Advisory, the…...

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), in conjunction with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), is issuing this safety advisory to provide notice of emergency discharge control equipment connected to and installed on cargo tank motor vehicles, which when improperly installed, do not operate correctly and can result in total loss of power to the cargo…...

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is issuing this safety advisory to provide notice to owners and operators of certain cargo tanks that they have been improperly inspected and tested, and must be re-inspected and retested before being used in Hazardous Materials specification tank service. The tanks in question were tested by H&W Tank Testing, CT#8083, Ohatchee, Alabama, and…...

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is issuing this safety advisory concerning pressure relief devices (PRD) that were not manufactured or intended for use on cargo tank motor vehicles. PRDs are an integral part of the safety mechanisms for U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) specification cargo tank motor vehicles and are vital to ensuring…...