Did you know that shipping hazardous materials without proper training and certification is a violation of federal Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations? Improper shipment of hazardous materials can have serious legal consequences for individual researchers and for Georgia Tech, not to mention the potential risks to public safety and emergency response personnel.  

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

Georgia Tech Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) has instituted a centralized Hazardous Materials Shipping Program whereby trained staff members ship biological materials, chemicals, and radiological materials for the GT community.  

Any Georgia 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 in collaborative research, return to vendors, etc.) is required to receive the 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 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 (404-894-6120) or Shane Gillooly (404-894-6119).

For chemical shipments, please contact Ryan Lisk (404-385-9531) or Morgan Wright (404-385-0821).

For radiological shipments, please contact Christina Tabor (404-894-8846) or Gary Spichiger (404-894-8847).