Best Practices for Handling Hazardous Materials While Trucking

Recently updated on August 12th, 2024

Even if you aren’t a HazMat-endorsed truck driver, you probably already know that there are a lot of added risks to transporting certain materials. It’s right there in the name: Hazardous Materials! Getting a HazMat endorsement is a great step in your career, and will open the door to many more driving opportunities with new companies, locations, and pay rates. The HazMat endorsement to your CDL is sought after because of how critical — and risky — transporting hazardous materials is.

A good HazMat driver understands the rules and regulations around safely transporting these materials, and follows them to the letter in order to minimize risks while also avoiding unnecessary liability. As a HazMat transporter, you are well aware of your important responsibility and understand that each decision you make can impact public safety, environmental health, as well as the global economy that relies on shipping and logistics to keep the flow of goods and materials moving steadily along. When you are transporting materials that could cause fires, explosions, chemical burns, toxic exposure, or serious damage to the environment, you need to know all of the most important steps to take.

Legislating and Regulating Hazardous Materials

Since 1975, the Hazardous Material Transportation Act (HMTA) has required that all drivers transporting materials deemed hazardous must have the HazMat endorsement. The Act was put into law in order to “protect against the risks to life, property, and the environment that are inherent in the transportation of hazardous material in intrastate, interstate, and foreign commerce.”

In 1990, a clarifying act called the Hazardous Materials Transportation Uniform Safety Act (HMTUSA) standardized a lot of definitions, requirements, and expectations that had gotten very confusing when working with local, state, and federal regulations in order to streamline the shipping process and keep the logistics industry rolling along.

Under the HMTA, there are nine separate classes of hazardous materials:

1. Explosives such as dynamite, fireworks, and ammunition
2. Gases including flammable, non-flammable, and toxic gases such as oxygen and propane
3. Flammable liquids, including gasoline and acetone
4. Flammable solids like matches and desensitized explosives
5. Oxidezers and organic peroxides like hydrogen peroxide, ammonium nitrate, or sodium chlorate
6. Toxic substances and infectious substances like cyanide or infectious substances like disease test samples
7. Radioactive materials like uranium, plutonium, or radioactive medical waste
8. Corrosives such as battery acid, sulfuric acid, and sodium hydroxide
9. Miscellaneous dangerous goods like dry ice, asbestos, and lithium batteries

As you can see by this high-level list, there are a lot of different materials that fall under the category of “hazardous” due to the many different risks they pose during transportation. While there are substantial differences between dry ice and uranium, both must be handled with the same level of care to avoid problems on the road.

Getting HazMat Endorsed

Getting this endorsement has a number of steps you will need to take, including meeting the basic requirements of being 21+, having a CDL, and either being a US citizen or a legal permanent resident. You’ll then need to go through the administrative steps of applying, paying fees, and providing all necessary documentation before taking the written HazMat endorsement test. You’ll need to study up on the relevant sections in your state’s commercial drivers manual, and it’s a good idea to take a few prep tests to prepare. Depending on your state, you may also need to take additional training before you are able to get the endorsement, so again, check with your state regulations.

Best Practices to Consider When Handling HazMat

Now that we’ve talked about some of the basics of HazMat and the importance of this endorsement in the trucking industry, let’s dive into some best practices to consider, whether you are planning to get your endorsement or you’ve been trucking HazMat for years. Do you see any more that we missed? Leave your best practices in the comments!

Know Your Packaging Requirements

Lots of research, development, and regulation has gone into making sure that hazardous materials are packed in the safest possible ways for transport. The safest packing will depend on the type of material you are transporting, but luckily, you won’t need to do much guesswork. The right packaging solutions are often dictated by the UN Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (TDG Sub-Committee), which is tasked with maintaining and approving changes to the UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, which are also referred to as the UN Model Regulations.

In the UN Model Regulations, you will find an extensive body of information, including things like the specific categories each material falls under, testing standards for packaging, bulk containers, and tanks, and virtually everything else you need to know about the most up-to-date regulations for HazMat handling. The specific packaging will have been subjected to a lengthy battery of tests to ensure optimal performance and safety, including drop tests, stacking tests, edge crushing tests, vibration exposure, pressure differentials, and stress tests to determine how resistant to leaks they are.

Your packaging requirements will depend on the Packaging Group the material is categorized as:

• Packing Group 1 is the highest danger group, which you may see abbreviated as PG I. The substances in this group are highly toxic, explosive, or pose other significant threats to public safety and environmental health.
• Packing Group 2 may be abbreviated as PG II and is the medium danger group. This group typically includes a variety of flammable liquids. corrosives, and materials that are determined ot be moderately toxic.
• Packing Group 3, or PG III, is the lowest danger group of materials that are still categorized under HazMat. Even though these materials are objectively less dangerous than PG I or II, they are still hazardous and must be treated with the same level of care.

Each package you transport must be marked according to the Packing Group, and must also include symbols that specify the type of material being transported. There are a number of other requirements to labeling as well, and you will need to refer to the UN Model Regulations to make sure that you are in compliance.

Stay Up On Training

You will need to pass a written exam in order to get your HazMat endorsement, but if you plan to stand out in the field it’s a great idea to do continuing education and develop your abilities to safely handle specific types of hazardous materials. There are a few different categories of training that you will need to go through in order to be able to remain employed as a HazMat driver:

• General awareness training will help you get comfortable with the HazMat trucking regulations that will dictate the way you transport goods. Each specific requirement in HazMat handling is necessary to understand and be fully aware of how to implement, and this training will help clarify and reinforce these best practices so you can stay both safe and compliant.
• Function-specific training will be a deep dive into the specifics of a job, which will likely be with handling certain classes or packing groups. Each function-specific training will help further develop your ability to safely handle and transport certain materials and classes of materials, and will help you stand out in niche subcategories of HazMat trucking.
• Safety training will help you learn about the actual hazards that are inherent with the different materials you will be transporting. The more you understand the characteristics of a specific material, the safer you will be as the professional who is trusted to handle it. You will learn how to protect yourself and others from the possible bad effects of the material in question.
• Security training will help you understand the way to transport hazardous materials with both safety and security in mind. These materials may be dangerous in the wrong hands, and so making sure that you have a clear understanding of the ways to keep them secure while in your possession will help you and all those around you stay safe while you are transporting HazMat.

You will likely need to do continuing education in order to maintain your ability to transport certain HazMat, so make sure that you are aware of the requirements before you accidentally let something expire.

Always Comply With Regulations

You might see this one and think “well yeah, obviously!” but it is worth saying — over and over again. Transporting hazardous materials requires strict compliance with local, state, and federal regulations, and you will need to check and recheck each box before dropping your truck into gear and hitting the road.

A driver who won’t bend rules or skirt regulations is one who is respected and in-demand in the trucking industry, and while following each regulation to the letter of the law might feel overly bureaucratic and time-consuming, it’s one of the most important things you can do for both yourself ad everyone around you. If you feel like following these regulations might be something you struggle with, you may want to consider a shipping sector that has fewer regulations and fewer risks that come with the material you are transporting.

Of course, the most important reason to comply with regulations is the fact that they are meant to ensure the safest possible transport of hazardous material, but preventing spills, accidents, and other dangerous incidents is only one of many reasons. Secondly, you have a legal obligation to comply with the regulations, and a failure to do so could jeopardize your career, lead to hefty fines, and lead to possible criminal charges.

Read our other blog on truck stop safety tips.