As of January 1, 2013 the six-year transition period for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA’s) HM-2151 ended and the ruling will now be enforced. This new standard now rearranges the order of information on US shipping documents to be more in synch with international documents, specifically the current UN Recommendations for Transport of Dangerous Goods.
The original ruling was issued on December 29, 2006 and at that time was considered voluntary until now. The final rule implementation changes the sequence of hazardous material product description that must be placed on shipping papers.
The previous hazardous material product information sequence for shipping papers: Shipping name, hazard class, identification number, and packing group (eg: Gasoline, 3, UN1203, PG II).
The new hazardous material product sequence now mandatory on January 1 per HM-2151: Identification number, shipping name, hazard class, and packing group (eg: UN1203, Gasoline, 3, PG II).