Bulk Packaging
Bulk Packaging
by Hazmat Term
Bulk packaging means a packaging, other than a vessel or a barge, including a transport vehicle or freight container, in which hazardous materials are loaded with no intermediate form of containment and which has:
- a maximum capacity greater than 450 L (119 gallons) as a receptacle for a liquid
- a maximum net mass greater than 400 kg (882 pounds) and a maximum capacity greater than 450 L (119 gallons) as a receptacle for a solid; or
- a water capacity greater than 454 kg (1000 pounds) as a receptacle for a gas as defined in ยง173.115 of this subchapter.
liquid bulk packaging
The distinction between bulk and non-bulk packaging is important in determining whether the placarding requirements apply. All shipments that require placarding also require registration. Hazardous materials – particularly Class 9 hazardous wastes – that do not require placarding but are transported in bulk packaging with capacities greater than 3,500 gallons or 468 cubic feet require registration under category D.
However, shipments of hazardous materials that do not require placarding – for example, Class 9 materials -, placed in bulk packaging with capacities less than 3,500 gallons or 468 cubic feet, do not require registration.
It is important to note that the use of bulk packaging requires registration no matter how small the quantity of hazardous materials actually offered or transported. For example, persons who have hazardous waste picked up in tank trucks, and persons who return unpurged tank trucks or rail tank cars from which they have unloaded hazardous materials so that the tanks still contain residues of hazardous materials when returned, must register under the provisions of Category F or Category D if the material is a Division 6.2 or Class 9 material.
