Shipping Papers and Emergency Response Information
What the exam tests
This domain focuses on the shipping paper as the shipment's legal description and the emergency response information that must accompany it. You need to know the required entries, who may sign, how the paper is made accessible, and what a valid emergency response telephone number looks like.
Required entries
A hazmat shipping paper must show:
- proper shipping name (and technical name in parentheses for an n.o.s. entry, unless excepted);
- hazard class or division;
- UN or NA identification number;
- packing group, when assigned;
- total quantity and number/type of packages;
- shipper's certification;
- emergency response telephone number, monitored at all times while the shipment is in transit. The emergency response information must describe immediate hazards, protective equipment, evacuation, fire, and spill response. It can be on the shipping paper or in an attached document. The ERG is useful guidance, but the carrier still must provide the required emergency response information. Basic description order: proper shipping name, class, ID number, packing group (for example, "Gasoline, 3, UN1203, PG II").
Accessibility
The driver must keep the shipping paper within reach while driving. When the driver leaves the vehicle, the paper must be kept in the door holder or pouch, unless the vehicle is attended. Do not lock the only copy in a cargo compartment.
Worked example
A paper reads "UN1993, Flammable liquid, n.o.s., 3, PG II, 500 lb." The entry is incomplete because an n.o.s. proper shipping name requires the technical name of the material in parentheses-for example, "Flammable liquid, n.o.s. (acetone), 3, UN1993, PG II." Without the technical name, emergency responders cannot identify the hazard.
Traps
Putting the ID number before the proper shipping name on a basic description; accepting a voicemail-only emergency number; omitting the technical name for n.o.s.; and assuming an ERG replaces the shipping paper.