IT'S WORTH DOING RIGHT.
HAZMAT SHIPPING IS
COMPLICATED AND RISKY
HOW TO USE THE IATA MANUAL
(International Air Transport Association)
A. What is the IATA manual
The IATA manual is a tool used daily to assist customers regarding the proper packaging requirements for all air shipments of hazardous materials. We are not authorized at anytime to instruct a customer on how they should package their material, however, you are allowed to fax those copies of the most current information or read the information over the phone. Never highlight or write anything on pages or information sent to the customer. The IATA is widely used and recognized as the industry standard of handling and shipping of hazardous materials.
B. How to use the IATA manual
The following example will guide you step by step on how to look up the correct information in the IATA.
Information you will need from your customer to assist:
- You will need a UN# which will identify the product. Always work with UN numbers and not chemical names – there are several chemicals with different UN numbers but the same chemical name. This is usually due to concentrations of chemicals or various physical states of the chemical.
- You will need to know product’s packing group.
- Is the customer looking to ship by air, (passenger or cargo only).
- What not to say:
Do not talk about anything for explosives and/or radioactive materials. Give the customer the DOT Help line number and inform them that several of our packages can be used for their product, but due to classification issues and unique packaging requirements, we cannot specifically help them with the packaging decisions.
You may recommend they contact the DOT (Department of Transportation) Assistance Phone# 800-467-4922.
Example exercise sheet Advise customer that he/she needs to know their UN# (i.e. 2733) for product to be shipped.
With the known UN# (2733) customer should reference the white pages of the IATA (pg# 288) of section 4 for said UN# (2733) this will Identify the correct blue page number (pg# 135) in section 4 that will disclose whether or not the product can be transported via air, if it’s permitted on a passenger/cargo aircraft and what quantity limitations apply. (Columns G thru L) (Columns G & K) Identify the appropriate packing instructions (302,305,309 ect) as described in section 5 of the yellow pages. Packing Instructions will identify the types of enter packages and outer packages permitted along with any other applicable Sub section requirements (sec.302 pg#334, see 305 pg#338, Sec 309 pg# 346 etc).