Improper shipment of hazardous materials can have serious legal consequences for individual researchers and for Georgia Tech. In addition, shipping hazardous materials without required training, certifications and proper labels or packaging material poses serious risks to public safety as well as to emergency personnel who may respond in the event of an accident. 

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently visited Tech to perform random inspections of air shipments of hazardous materials from laboratories in two different departments. Violations were identified in both departments. In both instances, the departmental shippers were unable to produce documentation proving that they had been trained and certified to ship hazardous materials in accordance with Department of Transportation (DOT) and International Air Transport Association (IATA) requirements.

Before a hazardous material is transported, it must be properly classified, packaged and labeled as prescribed by DOT Hazardous Materials Regulations (49 CFR). The DOT also mandates that all employees who “directly affect the safety of hazardous materials transportation” be trained and tested on these regulations. These employees must also have additional training on the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations and International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code if they do any shipping by air or ocean. 

To relieve the burden on laboratories and individual researchers of keeping up with these ever-evolving requirements, and to ensure they and Tech remain in compliance with the law, the Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) department has developed and implemented a centralized Hazardous Materials Shipping Program. EHS has trained and maintains certifications for several staff members who are qualified to ship biological materials, chemicals and radiological materials. All such materials should be shipped through EHS. In addition, any Tech laboratory, department or employee who needs to ship biological materials, chemicals or radiological materials (including but not limited to: samples for analysis, samples to share intellectual property, return to vendors, etc.) is required to receive EHS hazardous materials shipping awareness training.

For more information on the Georgia Tech Hazardous Materials Shipping Program, and to complete the required Awareness Training, please visit the EHS website at: www.ehs.gatech.edu  and click on the “Shipping Hazardous Materials” link.

If you are unsure if the items you wish to ship may qualify as hazardous materials, please contact one of the EHS employees below for clarification. 

For biological shipments, please contact Lisa Broadhurst at lisa.broadhurst@ehs.gatech.edu (or by phone at 404-894-6120).

For chemical shipments, please contact Ryan Lisk at ryan.lisk@ehs.gatech.edu (or by phone at 404-385-9531) or Ryanne Shadwick at ryanne.shadwick@ehs.gatech.edu (or by phone at 404-894-9381).

For radiological shipments, please contact Nazia Zakir at nazia.zakir@ehs.gatech.edu (or by phone at 404-894-3621).