Advanced Photon Source

A U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science,
Office of Basic Energy Sciences national synchrotron x-ray research facility

 

December 4, 2001

APS TECHNICAL UPDATE - 28

Who Can Handle Non-Radioactive APS User Shipments

DOT Hazard Classification		Options for Shipment Handling
		ANL Shipping Department	User Transport on the ANL Site	User Arranged Carrier Pickup
Non-hazardous Material	Including dry shippers not containing DOT hazardous materials	allowed	allowed	allowed1,2
Hazardous Materials and Dangerous Goods	1. Small Quantities	allowed	allowed3	ground ship only permitted1,2 Air/Rail/Water not permitted
	2. Bio-samples in dry shippers with frozen propane, etc.4	required	permitted on the ANL site only	not permitted
	3. All other Hazardous Materials	required	not permitted	not permitted

¹ Shipping papers shall be addressed as from:  User Name, User's Home Institution, c/o APS Sector ___, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439
² If the sender is an ANL employee or if ANL material is being sent then the shipment must be arranged through the ANL shipping department.
³ In accordance with the small quantity exception as specified in APS Technical Update 23 (16 July 1998).
⁴ Air shipment allowed in accordance with the DOT requirements as specified in APS Technical Update 25 (20 May 1999).

ANL Employees and ANL Materials

To ensure ANL compliance with transportation requirements and for property management tracking, if the sender is an ANL employee or if  ANL materials or equipment are being sent, then the shipment must be sent through the ANL shipping department.

Non-ANL APS Users and Argonne Shipping Department

The services of the ANL shipping department are available to the APS users for transporting materials both on the ANL site and to off-site locations.  A valid user account with adequate funding is required to pay for freight charges incurred on the CAT's behalf.  As described below, some hazardous materials shipments must be sent through the ANL shipping department.  For time-critical shipments, if contacted in a timely fashion, ANL shipping can prepare all shipping materials in advance and may be able to make special pick-up arrangements to meet the user's needs.

Non-ANL APS Users and Overnight Shipper Pickups

When it is impossible or impractical for the ANL shipping department to prepare a  time-critical, nonhazardous shipment (e.g., on weekends and when it is too late in the day), non-ANL-employee users may arrange for an overnight shipper to pick up their package at the APS.  For any user-arranged shipments:

• the APS user and the APS user's home institution shall assume full responsibility for complying with the appropriate CAT, ANL, U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), and carrier requirements,
• the user shall not use a preprinted U.S. DOE/Argonne National Lab airbill, and
• the user shall not use an ANL account with the shipping company.

For these user-arranged shipments, the "from" portion of the airbill is to completed as follows:

User Name

User's Home Institution

c/o APS Sector ___            (a local contact's name at the APS is optional)

9700 South Cass Avenue

Argonne, IL 60439

This address will enable the carrier to directly contact the sender (rather than ANL's shipping department) to resolve any questions or problems with the shipment.  The name provided should identify a person who is knowledgeable of the shipment's contents and familiar with its packaging, labeling and documentation.

Transporting Hazardous Materials on the ANL Site

All materials identified by the DOT as hazardous shall be transported on the ANL site by ANL transportation services and shall be shipped from ANL by the ANL Shipping and Receiving Department.  Materials that meet the requirements (as described below) of either 1) the small-quantity exception or 2) of the cryogenically preserved nonhazardous biological samples in certain frozen refrigerants may be transported on the ANL site by users.  The user needs to ensure that adequate information and time is provided to the handlers in the ANL shipping department in order that the shipment can be properly packaged and meet the user's delivery requirements.

Small Quantities of Hazardous Materials

For ground transport only users can transport on the ANL site small quantities of certain classes of hazardous materials to and from the APS in accordance with the process described in APS Technical Update 23 (16 July 1998).  Users also may arrange for a carrier to pick up these shipments, but they must be designated for "ground transportation only."

Dry Shippers

Dry shippers are specially designed shipping containers that keep materials at liquid nitrogen temperatures for extended periods with no free-flowing liquid and are not regulated by the DOT.  Properly packaged dry shippers that do not contain hazardous materials may be treated as nonhazardous shipments.  Regardless of the designation of the material being shipped, it is the user's responsibility to ensure that the shipment does not contain any free-flowing liquid nitrogen.  Empty dry shippers must be at room temperature or they are subject to IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations Packing Instruction 202.

Resources

CAT representatives trained in transportation safety, the shipping department, AOD User Safety Coordinator (glagola@aps.anl.gov, 630/252-9797), and APS ESH Coordinators are all available to answer questions about shipping requirements or direct you to the appropriate resources to resolve any questions. 

 

Julie Cross - User Technical Interface
jox@aps.anl.gov
Telephone - 630.252.0592

Updated: October 4, 2007