Hazardous Materials

Hazardous materials are things that can hurt people or property if they spill, burn, or leak. The rules work like the warning stickers on a spray can. The shipper decides whether a product is hazardous. The shipper packs and labels it and writes the shipping papers, the list of what is aboard. The carrier, the trucking company, checks that work and reports incidents. The driver refuses damaged or leaking packages. The driver placards the truck, keeps the papers where a rescuer can find them, and follows hazmat driving rules. If any link fails, a firefighter at a crash has no idea what is burning.

There are nine hazard classes. Class 1 is explosives. Class 2 is gases. Class 3 is flammable liquids. Class 4 is flammable solids. Class 5 is oxidizers and organic peroxides, things that feed a fire. Class 6 is poisons and infectious substances. Class 7 is radioactive materials. Class 8 is corrosives, which eat through skin. Class 9 is everything else. Each class has a diamond-shaped placard, a big sign for all four sides of the truck. Its color, symbol, and number show the danger from far away. A placarded truck needs a driver with the H endorsement.

Two tables say when to placard. Table 1 lists the most dangerous materials, such as certain explosives, poison gases, and highly radioactive material. Any amount must be placarded. Table 2 covers the rest. Once all Table 2 materials aboard weigh 1,001 pounds or more together, you placard for each Table 2 class.

A shipping paper lists the shipping name, hazard class, identification number, packing group, and amount. It also gives an emergency phone number. Hazmat lines must stand out, listed first, highlighted, or marked with an X in the HM column. Keep the papers within reach while belted in: the driver's side door pocket or the seat beside you. When you leave the cab, the papers go on the driver's seat, on top of any other papers.

Loading has rules too. Engine off unless it runs a pump, and parking brake set. Never smoke near explosives, flammables, or oxidizers. No hooks that could poke packages, and no dropping them. A segregation table shows which classes cannot ride together. Poison or infectious material never rides with food. Check for leaks before accepting a load and after loading.

In an emergency, the Emergency Response Guidebook, or ERG, is your first tool. Look up the material's identification number or name to find its guide page. It gives hazards, safe distances, and first actions. Your job is to protect people first. Keep others away, warn traffic, and prevent fire. Get the shipping papers and ERG to the rescuers. Then report to your carrier.