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Scope
General packaging requirements for hazardous materials apply to all packages including bulk, non-bulk, new, reused, specification, and non-specification.
Regulatory citations
- 49 CFR 173.24 — General requirements for packagings and packages
- 49 CFR Part 173 — Shippers-general requirements for shipments and packagings
- 49 CFR Part 178 — Specifications for packagings
- 49 CFR Part 179 — Specifications for tank cars
Key definitions
- Package: A packaging plus its contents.
- Packaging: A receptacle and any other components or materials necessary for the receptacle to perform its containment function in conformance with the minimum packing requirements of the Hazardous Materials Regulations.
- Specification package: A packaging conforming to one of the specifications or standards for packagings in the Hazardous Materials Regulations.
Summary of requirements
Types of packaging. Packagings are of two types: those manufactured to specifications mandated by the regulations and those based on their performance as determined by testing.
In the first group, specification packaging, are cylinders, portable tanks, cargo tanks and tank car tanks for which DOT has issued detailed manufacturing specifications.
In the second group, UN or performance-oriented packaging, are non-bulk packagings — except cylinders — that have successfully passed applicable performance tests — Drop Test, Leakproofness Test, Hydrostatic Pressure Test, Stacking Test, and the Vibration Standard.
Manufacturers must mark all authorized packagings (specification or performance-oriented) as required by Parts 178 and 179 of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR). This marking is the manufacturer’s certification that the packaging has been manufactured and tested in accordance with Parts 178 and 179.
Basic guidelines.
- Hazardous materials can only be transported in packagings that are authorized by the regulations. The packaging authorized in Part 173 can only be used for a hazardous material if, the section in Part 173 is referenced in Column 8 of the Hazardous Materials Table for the proper shipping name chosen for the material. Part 173 provides detailed packaging rules for each class of hazardous materials. The packaging requirements set forth for a specific hazardous material are the same for all modes of transportation unless otherwise stated or exceptions are authorized.
- The more hazardous the material, the more restrictive the packaging requirements will be. This is not just determined by the hazard class, but also by the degree of hazard, i.e., the packing group.
- Packing Group I — Great Danger
- Packing Group II — Medium Danger
- Packing Group III — Minor Danger
- Packaging test requirements are more or less restrictive depending upon the Packing Group of the material for which the package is to be used.
Example: For a material with a specific gravity £1.2, the drop height for Packing Group I is 1.8 m (5.9 feet), Packing Group II is 1.2 m (3.9 feet) and Packing Group III is 0.8 m (2.6 feet). For a material with a specific gravity >1.2, a formula exists for each packing group that is to be used in determining the drop height. - All packages or packaging (bulk and non-bulk) must comply with the “General requirements for packagings and packages” (173.24), including: new and reused packagings, and specification and non-specification packages, unless excepted. These requirements are in addition to those that Part 178 spells out. In addition, non-bulk packagings and packages must also be in compliance with the requirements of 173.24a “Additional general requirements for non-bulk packagings and packages,” and bulk packagings with the requirements of 173.24b “Additional general requirements for bulk packagings.”