Inside Iowa State

April 14, 2006

Sending hazardous stuff? Use the right box

by Anne Krapfl

The "reduce, reuse, recycle" mantra generally is a good one -- but not when it comes to boxes or other shipping containers labeled for hazardous materials.

Federal Department of Transportation laws regulating the shipping industry have become stricter and more rigidly enforced following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, said Jim Ziebold, manager of Iowa State's postal and parcel service. All shippers, whether it's the U.S. Postal Service or private companies like UPS or FedEx, have to follow the rules. Ziebold said his staff is trained to screen for packages that might be in violation and, in the past, has tried to correct the error and send a package on its way. Last month, they started telephoning senders instead, to ask them to correct the errors.

In short, hazardous materials must be shipped in packages that identify them as hazardous. Non-hazardous materials can't be shipped in recycled boxes with a hazard warning crossed out or partially removed. Such labels must be completely removed or blacked out.

No fines, yet

Failure to comply can result in federal fines of tens of thousands of dollars, which would be paid by the offending office or unit. Ziebold said the university has not been fined yet.

"We're sensitive to the fact that recycling is economical, and we can understand why people want to reuse some of those boxes -- they're heavy-duty containers built to house materials," Ziebold said. "But, please, don't reuse them for anything other than what the box is labeled for."

Photos of inappropriately prepared packages are on the postal and parcel Web site, http://www.fpm.iastate.edu/postal_parcel (click on "Reusing Packaging" in the left column).

By law, hazardous materials that are transported also must be shipped with documents identifying the contents of the package, and Iowa Staters are knowledgeable about that process, said Steve Ziegenfuss, the shipping specialist in ISU's environmental health and safety department. He approves all packages of hazardous materials in Ziebold's shop prior to shipment.

Central Stores sells Safe-T-Packs (labeled for hazardous materials). Central Stores also can be a resource for new or used unmarked boxes for shipping items that aren't hazardous or otherwise regulated, said manager Norm Hill.

"Iowa State University is doing it right. We're quite diligent about it," Ziebold said. "It's fairly common that the shipping tasks go to grad students or post-docs -- positions that have frequent turnover -- so we need to keep reminding people."

"We're sensitive to the fact that recycling is economical, and we can understand why people want to reuse some of those boxes -- they're heavy-duty containers built to house materials. But, please, don't reuse them for anything other than what the box is labeled for."

Jim Ziebold