EH&S Home Page

Program: Hazardous Materials Shipping

Lead: Charles Borromeo
Phone: (510) 642-0117
E-Mail: cborromeo@berekeley.edu

Team: Hazardous Materials Management
Associate Director: Patrick Goff

Description

Faculty, staff and students involved in shipping hazardous materials must be trained to ship or work with someone who has completed hazardous materials shipping training. UC Berkeley's campus-wide policy on Hazardous Materials Shipping and Transportation (effective April1, 2008) further describes the responsibilities of those on campus who initiate, authorize or otherwise have a role in the shipping of hazardous materials.

Federal and international laws require that anyone who transports, offers advice for transport, or prepares hazardous materials for transport must be trained. Hazardous materials include biological materials, diagnostic specimens, genetically modified organisms or micro-organisms, infectious substances, hazardous chemicals, radioactive materials, and dry ice. Generally, training is required every two years. All shippers of hazardous materials must complete Department of Transportation (DOT) Security training. This training is available on CD and can be viewed in the Office of Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S) on the 3rd floor of University Hall, (510) 642-3073, ehs@berkeley.edu.

Be advised that some carriers, especially the United States Postal Service, do not ship certain hazardous materials. Contact the carrier before arranging for your shipment. See other agencies, organizations and resources at the end of this web page.

Hazard Type/Classification	Shipping Requirements

Biologicals Infectious substances Potentially infectious materials DNA & RNA Human and animal samples (non-infectious only) Genetically modified micro-organisms routinely handled at Biosafety Level 1 (international shipping) Toxins	You may ship biological materials only after meeting the following requirements: Complete SAF-T-PAK Shipping Class 6.2 Dangerous Goods, Biological substances & Dry Ice CD-based training and DOT Security CD-based training. Contact EH&S at 642-3073 for an appointment. The training can be completed in about 3 hours. If you are shipping biological materials that require a Biological Use Authorization (BUA), you must be listed on a current Berkeley campus BUA. Additional permits may be required to ship materials out of state or out of the country. Please see Shipping Biological Materials or contact the Biosafety Officer at 642-3073 for additional information. The Office of Laboratory Animal Care (OLAC) must approve any shipment involving animals. See OLAC website for requirements: http://www.olac.berkeley.edu/Olac/Forms/index.shtml If training requirements have not been met, biological materials must be shipped by EH&S (allow a minimum of two weeks). Contact EH&S at (510) 642-3073 for assistance or additional information. You may ship the following without completing the SAF-T-PAK Shipping and DOT Security training. DNA & RNA isolates (only if non-hazardous and contains no hazardous chemicals) Human and animal specimens (non-infectious only and not containing other hazardous chemicals - refer to pages 3 and 8 of the linked document) If you need assistance, are shipping by the United States Postal Service, or are shipping internationally, please contact the Biosafety Officer at 642-3073. Note that SAF-T-PAK Shipping and DOT Security training are required to ship these materials with dry ice. These materials require the SAF-T-PAK Shipping and DOT Security training with additional training provided by EH&S. Please visit Shipping Biological Materials and contact the Biosafety Officer at 642-3073 for assistance or additional information. Toxins are shipped as toxic substances (see Chemicals, below).
Chemicals (examples) Explosives Flammables Gases Oxidizers & organic peroxides Toxic substances Corrosives Dry Ice	To ship hazardous chemicals, such as the categories at left, contact EH&S at 642-3073. Allow a minimum of two weeks for EH&S assistance with your shipment. Other factors that may affect the timeliness of your shipment include: Details associated with international shipping Accommodations for dry ice shipments Approval for licenses or permits from agencies associated with transfer of materials If you are conducting research at a field station or out of the country, contact EH&S for assistance as soon as possible to minimize delay.
Radioactive Materials All	Must be shipped by EH&S. Contact the Radiation Safety Team at 642-3073.

International Shipments
Export control regulations have been established for restricting the use of and access to controlled information, goods, and technology for reasons of National security or protection of trade.

In addition to following the guidelines as described above for hazard type classification for the material to be shipped, more information on how to properly ship, transmit, or transfer certain sensitive items, information, or software to foreign persons or entities may be found at the UC Berkeley research web site http://research.chance.berkeley.edu/echome.cfm. Follow the guidelines as described above for hazard type classification for the material to be shipped.

If you wish to ship intellectual property (either domestically or internationally), contact the Office of Intellectual Property & Industry Research Alliances (IPIRA) to obtain information on Material Transfer Agreements and licenses, or to clarify questions regarding patentable inventions, copyrightable software, and tangible material transferred to the private sector: http://ipira.berkeley.edu/

Training Documentation
Records of training to ship hazardous materials must be kept by the work unit, laboratory or department. These records may be required in the event of an inspection by a regulatory agency.

Regulations
Hazardous materials shipments are regulated by numerous government agencies and non-government organizations. Shipping hazardous materials requires meeting complex regulations. Failure to meet these regulations has potential public safety implications and each violation of a regulation may result in the following:

Individual Civil penalties up to $32,500 per violation, per day
Willful individual violators may be fined up to $250,000 and/or receive up to 5 years in prison
The University may also be fined up to $500,000 per incident

For Regulations on Ground Shipments:

United States Department of Transportation (DOT) - Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) 49
California Highway Patrol (CHP)
Shipper must follow other agencies and organizations requirements depending on the nature of the material

For Regulations on Air Shipments:

International Air Transport Association (IATA) - regulates all aspects of dangerous goods transport via air
Shipper must follow air carrier’s and country-of-reciept’s requirements, and all requirements of other agencies and organizations depending on the nature of the material

For Regulations on Export Controls:

Other Agencies, Organizations and Resources: