Are you aware of the The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2005 or SAFETEA-LU?  If you ship or receive hazardous materials as defined in 49 CFR parts 172.101

This act raised the DOT’s ability to impose a civil fine from $50,000/incident to $100,000/day/incident.  So, what does this mean to you?  If your shipment is NOT in compliance with 49 CFR parts 100-185 it could cost you significant fines. 

Today the US DOT is taking incorrect shipments very seriously.  Shipping hazardous materials incorrectly, in commerce, can cost your organization big bucks.   Consider that you send 1001 pounds of AMMONIUM NITRATE by ground transportation and have incorrect shipping papers, the wrong placard on your truck, and your employees have not been trained properly.  This represents a possible fine of $300,000/day. 

There are 5 parts to Hazmat training:

• General Awareness/Familiarization Training- How to use the 49CFR and identify hazardous materials
• Function-specific Training-What specific hazardous materials you ship or receive and how to do it correctly
• Safety Training-Emergency Response, safety measures used to protect employee’s, handling of hazardous materials
• Security Awareness Training-awareness of security risks and how to recognize possible security threats
• In-depth Security Training-If you ship certain classifications and quantities of hazardous materials you need more in-depth planning and training

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. 

The Compliance Resource Center offers customized on-site HAZMAT training.  Each class is customized to your organizations specific hazardous materials shipped or received.  Contact us for more information.