49 CFR 172.700-704; IATA Section 1.5
Federal regulations require hazardous materials training for every "Hazardous Materials Employee." Each "Hazardous Materials Employer" is responsible to assure that its employees are properly trained.
The required areas of training include general awareness/familiarization training, function-specific training, security, and safety training. DOT and IATA regulations require that hazardous materials employers train, test, and maintain records for all hazardous materials employees. Training must be documented at least once every three years for DOT and at least every two years for IATA. New employees must be directly supervised by a trained hazardous materials employee until this training has been completed, which DOT specifies must occur within 90 days of employment, within 90 days of change of responsibilities, or within 90 days of a change in the hazardous materials regulations.
The hazardous materials employer is responsible for full compliance with part 172, subpart H of 49 CFR. Failure to train hazardous materials employees appropriately can expose a company to severe civil penalties. Training can be provided by the hazardous materials employer or by other public and private sources. However, the employer must certify compliance with hazardous materials training requirements.
All pre-shipment responsibilities belong to the shipper. (See 49 CFR 171.2.) UPS cannot certify shippers’ employees as meeting regulatory training requirements and cannot be responsible for the classification of shippers’ materials.
UPS offers seminars that provide an overview of the regulations and UPS carrier variations for shipping hazardous materials for customers shipping under the DOT Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) or the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations. These seminars are an excellent resource, but responsibility for training certification rests with the hazardous materials employer.
If you have any questions about shipping hazardous materials with UPS, contact us.