Revised Assignment 1: Vinyl Chloride for Team Delta: Andrew Watson's Blog

Transportation of Vinyl Chloride
The handling and transportation of Vinyl Chloride is important to ensure the safety of the general public and property along its route is protected. Vinyl Chloride is an extremely flammable gas and exposure to it can cause serious harm to those who encounter it unprotected. Although, Vinyl Chloride is a hazardous chemical or a hazardous waste byproduct, it can be safely transported throughout the world as long as the generator, shipper, and transporter follow rules created by national governmental agencies. In the United States, the transportation of hazardous chemicals is regulated by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and the United States Department of Transportation (DOT).
Classification
Before any chemical can be transported, it must first be classified to determine if it is deemed a hazardous chemical/waste or if it is non-hazardous. This can be accomplished by looking in the Code of Federal Regulation (49 CFR) book under the proper shipping name of the chemical. Vinyl Chloride is listed as hazardous chemical (Class 2.1 flammable Gas) and to ensure safe transport, special handling and shipping requirements must be followed.
Mode of Transportation
Now that Vinyl Chloride has been determined to be a Class 2.1 flammable Gas material and needs to have special handling, a safe mode of transportation needs to be determined. The only approved modes of transportation for Vinyl Chloride are:
· Truck transport
· Cargo air craft
Forbidden modes of transportation are:
· Passenger aircraft
· Rail car
Placards
Placarding is a form of hazard communication and is the backbone of emergency response. The primary mission of DOT hazard communication is to alert the public and transportation workers of the presence of hazardous materials. Also, placarding provides visual indication to responders to a hazardous material incident. The United States Department of Transportation (US DOT) has specific requirements for placarding. Transporters, shippers, and generators must have placards that must meet the size, color, and placement required by the US DOT when shipping any hazardous chemical material or waste. An example of a placard for Vinyl Chloride is below:

Shipping papers
To become a shipper of hazardous chemicals or hazardous waste, special training and certification must be attained through agencies approved by US DOT. Shipping papers (manifest or bill of lading) are typically created and completed by the generator/shipper of hazardous chemicals/wastes and they will always be responsible for the accuracy and completeness of any manifest or documents they sign. Failure to review or falsify shipping documents can result in heavy fines AND jail time to the company and generator/shipper. So, it is imperative that the shipper/generator knows what the shipping papers requirements are and understand what the consequences are if they are not followed.


References:

PHEMSA Webpage:
http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/regs

Matheson Tri Gas Webpage:
http://www.mathesongas.com/pdfs/msds/MAT24940.pdf