Military Guide Steers HazMat Shipping

Len Hammond, HazMat Instructor at the Defense Ammunition Center in Fort Carson, CO, has been conducting HazMat training for the military for 10 years. During the past few years Hammond has been working with the private sector to develop a military training tool and reference guide for shipping of dangerous goods by air.

The result is the military version of LabelMaster's A.I.R. Shipper Air International Regulations for Shippers of Dangerous Goods.

The version addresses unique challenges faced by the military when shipping dangerous goods. For example, there is a much greater turnover in personnel who are responsible for shipping goods in the military than among civilian employees. Because military personnel may be deployed at any time, training is constant. Training and certification are required for anyone involved in consigning, carrying, and shipping dangerous goods. The certification must be renewed every two years.

When troops are deployed on military planes, there may not be a separate cargo hold. As a result, planes carry dangerous cargo in the same area of the plane as troops. The types of dangerous goods on these planes can be highly explosive or dangerous chemicals. Shipments by military aircraft is in accordance with joint military publication AFMAN 24-204I which incorporates both the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) regulations.

Military shipping is multi-modal and the personnel shipping dangerous goods are responsible for the entire transportation cycle, including moving dangerous materials in a combat theatre.

The manual also includes the U. S. Department of Transportation regulations, 49 CFR DGR.

For more information, visit: click here.