ABSTRACT
A fundamental issue concerning hazardous materials is identifying those materials that actually fall under the definition of a “hazardous material”. The transportation of hazardous materials on open US highways and across adjacent country borders presents a great degree of risk. Every day in our country, large quantities of hazardous materials are transported through rural America, small towns, and large cities and into Canada or Mexico. The main concept to understand is that proper terminology is used to describe hazardous materials so that all individuals involved in emergency response to an accident will know what materials are involved and how to respond. Package labeling is the first level of physical identification with regard to the transportation of hazardous material packages. Labeling on the outside of the package is an indicator of its contents. The Department of Transportation specifies some limitations for various hazardous material packages when they are shipped by certain modes of transportation.
