HAZMAT question from NH

Yeah I practiced tested on crist website and it helped me also. Good luck.

 

Just read the book from DMV and you should be fine. I just got mine in North Carolina. Mine is good for 5 years. The TSA Back Ground check took like 7 days.

 

Follow along...

There are 9 hazard classes...

1. Explosives

2 Flammible Gases

3. Flammible Solids

4. Flammible Liquids

5. Oxidizers

6. Poisons

7. Radioactive

8. Corrosives

9. Misc items...

After an accident, you may be unable to communitcate to fire rescue the hazards of your cargo...so Labels ad placards are designed to give first responders a quick overview of what your carrying, so they can respond accordingly...

Hazardous material table or columns...



column 1} Utilizes 6 different symbols which we won't get into right now...

colum 2} displayes proper shipping (or material) names and proper descriptions...must be in regular type, and they'll be in alphabetical order.
column 3} shows material hazard class or division...(never transport 'forbidden material'
You can decide which placards to use if you know these 3 things...

a. Material hazard class
b. Amount being shipped
c. Amount of all hazardous materials of all classes on your vehicle...



Column 4} Lists the proper identification number associated with shipped item...and will either proceed with 'NA' or 'UN'...NA are used with shipping names that are only being shipped in the United States, or Canada...(so maybe it stands for 'North America'?...
The ID number must appear on the shipping paper and package...

Column 5} Lists the indentification number in 'Roman numberals'...(why?, I do not know)...

Column 6} Shows hazard warning labels, again, (seems redundant...

Column 7} Lists any 'special' instructions you need to know about material being hauled...if this column is filled, (those codes simply refer to other manual with more detailed info on material)

Column 8} A 3 part section that covers the the packbaging requirements for each hazardous material...

Basically the shipper will do the bulk of this for you...they will already have the shipping papers, columns filled out, proper hazard class, RQ or X ect ect...

They may hand you Placecards or you may have to buy them yourself..your job as a driver is to basically 'confirm' everything on the shipping papers...

So many chemicals are being transported out there on the road, and each type or class, has it's on particular properties...example explosives vs gas vs acids or oxidizers...

The shipping papers, labels and placecards allows for fire rescue to properly contain material...evacuate, proper extingishing substance, ect ect...
Knowing what their dealing with gives them the upper hand in containment, rather than guessing...

And it also helps that you yourself, as a driver, know what your hauling...that's very important...since you are the first line of casualty, should something go wrong...

To be continued...

 

1. Never drive vehicle with hazmat without placarding...the only exeption is during an emergency to protect life and property.

Some general misc stuff to remember...

• labels must be at least 3" away from other labels
• kept clean and clear, so that they can be easily readable from a distance (if covered with mud or snow, ice, you may get stopped by DOT.
• Affixed to background of contrasting color...(a red label on a red trailer might get you in trouble)
• The use of 'Drive Safely' or other slogans is prohibited (that's a wierd one)
• This one is contriversial also 'The front placard may be on the front of the tractor or the front of the trailer....

I've been in classes where the instructer couldn't decied on that last one...or the class...some say it must be on all for sides of trailer, in addition to front of tracter or nose or grill, while others say putting on front of tractor is not nessisary...this one might vary from state to state, although all rules are suppose to be 'Federal'...but then again companies my impliment their own company specific rules also...and so while taking test, don't get company rules mixed up with DOT rules...

Placard tables...

There are 2 placard tables...1, 2...simple...
a. Items in table 1 must be placarded no matter what, in any amount transported...
Items in table two, only have to be placarded if total weight is over 1,001 lbs..(Remember that number)...

Another tricky one you should know...and that is...placards can be displayed for hazardous material, even if not required...like if it falls below the Reportable Quantity rule...

Remember this too...Bulk packaging (tanker)



is defined as a single container with a capacity of over 119 gallons...(It doesn't have to be a tanker...)(I believe the fuel tanks on the side of most semi trucks exceed 119 gallons)...(tanker above is just for effects)

Anyways...if it has capacity of over 119 gallons, it must be placarded, even if it's only carrying reside of hazardous material...

 

You know?
That does not make sense at all.

When would you drive a HM load without placards 'to protect life and property'?
And, what would the 'emergency' be that would allow you to transport placardable quantities of HM without placards?

Plus, you can have HM in the load without needing placards if the quantities are small enough.

 

Some basic generic information you might find helpful in regards to loading and unloading hazardous material...

• Alwyas set brakes on vehicle being loaded or unloaded...
• Don't use jagged tools that could damage packages...
• Load packages away from heat sorce...
• Do not transport leaking material!, infact it's illegal to do so knowingly...
• Load must be properly braced to prevent movement during transport...
• No smoking when loading or unloading hazardous material...
• Never smoke around Class 1-5 hazard class material...

Remember, there are 9 hazard classes...let's review first 5.

1. Explosives
2. Flammable gas
3. Flammable liguids
4. Flammable solids
5. Oxidizers

• After loading, never open any packages during transport, and never transport from one package to another...(not to include cargo tanks)

Not this next one is what throws a lot of people off...Cargo heaters...

http://www.elstonmfg.com/



Here's a link to a company that sells them...they're basically heaters designed to be used inside of trailers or other enclosed spaces that hold cargo...and the DOT has a few rules that apply to transporting hazmat materials and the use of cargo heaters...

Do not class 1,2,3 materials with trailers that have cargo heaters in them or in use...
This one is 'iffy'...cause even in the manual they use the word 'usually forbid'...to also include not using class 1,2,3 even with refer unit in operation...(check up on your own about this one)...

If cargo heaters are in trailer or built into trailer, than you must disable it before loading material...

Anyways...I'm not going to go into detail here, it's not nessisary...just simply use commone since...

And remember your hazard classes...
Of course you wouldn't want class 1 explosives and a open flame together, or any extreme heat sorce...

If you know your hazard classes, you'll be able to make sense of many of the questions, even if you never studied for specific question (s)...

 

Magic number here is 1,001lbs

 

Ferrous vs non Ferrous metals...know the difference...

Stainless steel is considered a ferrous metal...do to it's high iron content...

This matters in that certain class of hazmat items cannot be hauled if the lining of the floor is made of ferrous metal..(class 1)

Also there are 3 hazard classes that cannot be transported with a working cargo heater...class 1, 2, 3....

Also...transport index applies to what hazard class?
It only applies to one, and that would be 7...
And it basically determines the amount that can be hauled on one vehicle...but I very seriously doubt any of you will ever, ever, haul anything in class 7...way to much liability...and that's more inline with government stuff, top secret type stuff...your average driver for Werner won't ever go anywhere near any class 7 hazmat class material...

Infact, there's a lot of classes or divisions, in the chart that most carriers forbid to haul...but if your working for a tanker company...than it becomes your business to know this stuff inside and out...

Some definitions...

Portable tanks...



Tanks that are not perminatly attacked to vehicle....

Cargo tanks...



Are bulk tanks that are perminatly attached to vehicle...

Before transporting, be sure to close all manhole covers and close all valves...this is a must...for to do otherwise is 'illegal'...

Also remember to 'ground' the tank when loading or unloading flammable material...and only run the engine if needed to run the pump...

If you do have to run engine to work pumps, turn engine off before you unhook the hose...

And that's all for this section...just generic stuff...again..know your hazmat classes...knowing the hazmat table will help you make sense of many questions on test....

 

Yep, focus on the practice questions in your state handbook. You see the majority of them again. It's not that hard if you study.

 

I looked because most states are 5 years with license renewals. To my surprise WI shows a CDL is good up to 8 years and the hazmat endorsement must be renewed every 4 years. Maybe I'm reading it wrong and they have a background check requirement seperate from the renewal requirement??

http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/drivers/forms/mv3735.pdf


If they are like many, they reciprocate the first one to line up with your CDL expiration date or birthday if you delay it from the time you got your CDL.