Best Practices for Building a Compliant Hazardous Materials Shipping Program

Tuesday, September 11, 2012: 2:40 PM-3:40 PM
#7-8 (Egan Convention Center)

Level of Course: Entry

Best Practices for Building a Compliant University Hazardous Materials (HazMat)Transportation Compliance Program


UIC has struggled to find the proper “home” within the department for the HazMat Transportation Compliance Program. The responsibility for this program has shifted several times. At one time three different staff members were giving “training” that did not meet the requirements of DOT or ICAO/IATA. UIC has found it difficult to find staff capable of understanding the complex DOT and ICAO/IATA regulations. When staff were sent to DOT and IATA training courses, they generally forgot the material within a few months because they did not get enough practice shipping hazardous materials to retain the information. 

At the majority of Universities, responsibility for HazMat Transportation Compliance resides with the Biological Safety Officer. This was the case at UIC until three years ago, when these responsibilities were shifted from the Biological Safety Officer to myself, the Hazardous Waste Compliance Manager.  When I took over the program, most campus units used office staff to accept/ship packages without any training. In addition, when employees did receive training, the content was poor and the material was not retained. 

I found that to implement a successful program, the responsibility for Transportation compliance cannot reside only with one person in the Environmental Health and Safety Department.  Successful implementation requires partnering with both the Biosafety and Lab Safety groups in the organization.


Author:
Thomas Johnson, CHMM