DOT revises hazardous materials regulations.(Department of Transportation )

The Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a final rule on December 9 revising terminology, definitions, and requirements for consistency with the Hazardous Materials Safety and Security Reauthorization Act of 2005. These amendments include revising the definitions of "hazmat employee" and "hazmat employer," revision of shipping paper retention requirements, providing a security plan exception for farmers, adding conditional applicability of postal laws and regulations, and replacement of "exemption" with "special permit."

These major revisions to the hazardous materials regulations, which impact every hazardous material shipper, offerer, and carrier, became effective January 9, 2006.

The definitions of "hazmat employee and "hazmat employer are revised in Sec. 171 8 for consistency with editorial revisions adopted under the act and to specify both of these definitions include self-employed individuals. Also, both definitions are revised to include persons that represent, mark, certify, or sell packaging components as qualified for use in transporting hazardous materials in commerce.

The change to the shipping paper retention requirements are as follows: Under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) each person who provides ...