Department of Transportation Hazardous Materials Compliance Questions

Regulation over the transportation of hazardous materials is to ensure the safety and protection of human health, property and the environment. Millions of tons of corrosives, explosives, flammable, poisonous and radioactive materials are transported across the country every day. If not regulated, it could cause serious disasters.

All transportation modes: rail, water, air, and motor vehicles are all regulated under federal regulation 49 CFR Subchapter C.

A hazardous material, as defined by DOT, is a substance that is classed under:

• CERCLA hazardous substances
• Hazardous wastes (49 CFR 262)
• Marine pollutants (Appendix B)
• Material meeting criteria for hazard classes and divisions under part 173
• Material identified as hazardous in 172.101
• Material that meets one of the nine hazard classes.

The Hazardous Materials Table is a comprehensive table in section 172.101 that lists several thousand commonly transported hazardous materials and generic descriptions. It includes OSHA’s hazardous chemicals, EPA’s hazardous wastes, and EPA’s CERCLA list of hazardous substances.  

Hazardous materials can be:

• Ingredients
• Wastes
• Water/wastewater treatment chemicals
• Cleaning chemicals
• Aerosol cans
• Compressed gases
• Other industrial chemicals

• Class 1 – Explosives
• Class 2 – Gases
• Class 3 – Flammable & Combustible liquids
• Class 4 – Flammable Solids, Spontaneously Combustible, or Dangerous When Wet
• Class 5 – Oxidizers of Organic Peroxides
• Class 6 – Poisons
• Class 7 – Radioactive Materials
• Class 8 – Corrosives
• Class 9 – Miscellaneous Hazardous Material

If your facility has shipped or received any of the hazardous materials in the Hazardous Materials Table, you must comply.  

• Determine whether a material meets the definition of a hazardous material
• Assign a proper shipping name
• Assign a class/division
• Assign an identification number
• Properly package
• Properly mark and label
• Perform employee training
• Utilize compliant shipping papers
• Use emergency response information
• Provide an appropriate emergency response telephone number
• Placard loads appropriately
• Create and maintain a security plan
• Report incidents appropriately

Each employee that is considered a “hazmat employee” must complete DOT training. Employees must be trained within 90 days of employment, if there is a change in job function, and will need refresher training every three years.

Any employee who directly affects hazardous materials transportation. This includes a person that:

• Is an owner-operator of a motor vehicle which transports hazardous materials
• Loads and unloads hazardous materials
• Handles hazardous materials
• Prepares hazardous materials for transport
• Is responsible for the safety of transporting hazardous materials

You must register with DOT by completing DOT form 5800.2 and pay annual fees if you are involved in the transportation of:

• Radioactive materials
• Explosives
• Materials that are poisonous by inhalation
• Bulk packaging (>3,500 gallons/468ft³)
• Non-bulk shipments of >5,000lbs of one hazard class requiring placarding

Report a transportation incident to DOT if there is:

• A fatality or hospitalization
• Property damage > $122,000
• A public evacuation of one hour or more
• A radioactive or etiologic spill

To report a transportation incident to DOT:

• Send a notification by telephone to the National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802 within 12 hours of the incident.
• Send a written report on DOT Form 5800.1 within 30 days of the incident.