Here is a very interesting  article from the U.S. DOT at http://hazmat.dot.gov/news/hmnews.htm

Note:  We urge all of our subscribers to read, save and forward this article to appropriate personnel within your organizations and to heed the warnings contained therein.

More than one-third of the Department's enforcement actions pertaining to violations of the hazardous materials transportation regulations involve the failure of hazmat employers to provide training or maintain test records. In most cases violations are attributed to failure to provide function specific training. For example, an investigator questions incorrect entries on a shipping paper prepared by a hazmat employee who responds that he was not instructed, nor tested, by his hazmat employer regarding the preparation of shipping papers.

Some hazmat employers rely on persons who hold themselves out to provide training without checking their qualifications and references. We have heard of so-called hazmat training entities who claim the quickest (least time consuming) and lowest price training programs that include tests and certificates of completion. I suggest that when you see or hear such a claim, you closely check the credibility of their claims. Elsewhere in this Web, we list a number of organizations and businesses who provide hazmat training. Most are excellent sources of training, but we cannot attest that all who avail themselves of the opportunity to be listed are providing training that would result in compliance with the hazmat training regulations.

One question you should ask is whether the training provided is of the general awareness type or function specific to the kind of activities conducted by your company. In addition, you should determine if the safety training is appropriate to your business activity. For example, the safety training provided a driver who unloads cargo tanks may be quite different from the safety training given transportation workers who handle infectious medical wastes.

I strongly recommend you consider hazmat training as a critical element to the future of your business and not as something that management, including senior management, will look into during an enforcement proceeding or after an accident. When training becomes an issue after an accident, a DOT penalty action may not be most significant when compared to the outcome of a civil proceeding to determine the extent of liability or punitive damages.

* * * * * *

As always, we welcome input from our readers and if you have a special topic that you would like to see addressed, please send your idea to Newsletter@BureauDG.com

*Did you know that according to PHMSA (Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration), “Most transportation incidents involving hazardous materials are the result of human error. Training is the best means of preventing hazardous materials incidents.”¹

Here are some additional examples of what happens when companies are alleged to be out of  compliance with the Hazmat Regulations and are subsequently fined:

(Shipper). Offered toxic liquid, organic, n.o.s. (containing ethylene chlorohydrin and chloroform), 6.1, inhalation hazard, hazard zone B, when it did not package the material in a packaging meeting the requirements for transporting a toxic by inhalation, hazard zone B material; offered this material by aircraft, when it was forbidden for transportation aboard an aircraft; offered this material without properly describing it on the shipping paper and without properly marking and labeling the packaging. [173.22(a)(2), 173.226(c), 173.227(a), 171.11(d)(9), 172.101(a), ICAO Technical Instructions—Table 3-1 and Special Provision A4, 172.203(m), 172.213(a), 172.400(a)(1), 172.402(c)]

FINE: $15,915.00.²

(Shipper).  Offered propylene oxide, 3, in an unauthorized packaging; failed to close a packaging in accordance with the manufacturer's closure notification. [173.22(a)(2), 172.102(c)(2)—Special Provision A3, 173.22(a)(4), 173.202(c), 178.2(c)(1)]

FINE: $6,800.00.²

¹ PHMSA Brochure number DHM50-0029-0403
² This information is taken from the PHMSA Enforcement Notice database at: http://hazmat.dot.gov/enforce/hmenforce.htm Company names have been removed at the discretion of this publication.

EXCITING NEWS BELOW!

BUREAU QUALIFIED TRAINING HAS RETURNED TO NEWARK LIBERTY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT! 

As you know, there are always serious consequences when Hazmat Employee Training does not measure up. We still have seats open for our next public training seminars to be held at the Philadelphia International Airport and at the Holiday Inn Newark International Airport, 160 Frontage Road, on the north side of the airport.

Workshop	Date(s)	Register
Advanced Air Training    (IATA Accredited) Philadelphia International Airport	8/6/07-8/8/07	Register
Ground & Ocean Course (49CFR / IMDG) Philadelphia International Airport	8/15/07-8/17/07	Register
Ground / Air / Ocean Multi-Modal Training           (49CFR / IATA / IMDG) Philadelphia International Airport	8/22/07-8/24/07	Register
Advanced Air Training (IATA Accredited) Newark Liberty International Airport	9/19/07-9/21/07	Register
2007 IATA RECURRENT Newark Liberty International Airport	9/25/07	Register
Ground & Ocean Course (49CFR / IMDG) Newark Liberty International Airport	9/26/07-9/28/07	Register
Ground / Air / Ocean Multi-Modal Training          (49CFR / IATA / IMDG) Newark Liberty International Airport	10/1/07-10/3/07	Register
Ground & Air Course (49CFR / IATA) Cranbury, New Jersey NJ Turnpike Exit-8A	10/24/07-10/26/07	Register

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