New IATA Rules for the Paint and Coatings Industry

Coatings, paints, and paint-related material are all regulated as hazardous materials (hazmat) when shipped by ground, air, ocean, or rail. Businesses that ship hazmat by air must comply with international rules set by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), an agency of the United Nations. Each year, IATA publishes a revised edition of its regulation manual, known as the Dangerous Good Regulations, or DGR. Noncompliance with the air shipping regulations can lead to rejected shipments, incidents in transit, and US DOT fines as high as $75,000 per day per violation.

This fall, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) will publish the 56th Edition of its Dangerous Goods Regulations. The latest edition of IATA’s rules will include a new special provision for businesses that ship protective coatings, paints, or printer ink. The new special provision (A192) will provide relief to these shippers by simplifying the documentation requirements for certain shipments. Compliance with the 56th Edition DGR is mandatory starting January 1, 2015.

Until now, businesses that ship paint, varnish, lacquer, enamel, stain, shellac, polish, or printing ink packaged with these products’ “related materials”—such as paint thinners or reducing compounds—have been required to designate both the product and the related materials on the Shipper’s Declaration. To do this, shippers use two different Proper Shipping Names from the list below:

• Paint
• Paint, corrosive, flammable
• Paint, flammable, corrosive
• Paint related material
• Paint related material, corrosive, flammable
• Paint related material, flammable, corrosive
• Printing ink
• Printing ink related materials

U.S. DOT Proposed Changes
On August 25, the US DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) proposed its own new Special Provision (367) to harmonize its naming requirements for paint, printer ink, and “related materials” with the international rules. If and when the rule change is finalized, the new DOT standards will apply to all ground shipments.

Pre-order the 56th Edition Dangerous Goods Regulations Now
To help hazmat shippers comply with the new IATA rules when they go into effect on January 1, Lion now offers the 56 Edition DGR for pre-order. Shippers who pre-order the new regulation manual before October 15 benefit from free shipping within the US. Shippers can pre-order the new DGR by calling 888-546-6511 or online: http://www.lion.com/Services/Bookstore/IATA-Dangerous-Goods-Regulations-Pre-Sale.