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Purchasing Hazardous Materials

Purchasing provides you with flexible features to handle all your hazardous materials purchasing and receiving requirements. You can clearly identify and classify hazardous materials and print information on your RFQs and purchase orders to ensure that your suppliers pack, label, and ship hazardous materials according to the regulations. You can also review hazardous materials information when receiving items and take the required safety precautions.

Use the Hazard Classes window (See: Defining Hazard Classes.) to define the hazard classes you need. Use the UN Numbers window (See: Defining UN Numbers.) to define the identification numbers you use and to assign them to hazard classes. Use the Item window to associate hazard classes and UN numbers with your items. See: Defining Items

Regulation Background

Section 19 of the ISRS (International Safety Rating System) requires that you clearly identify and record all orders for hazardous materials. The US Department of Transportation provides similar regulations. These regulations provide an extensive classification system for hazardous materials. The purpose of this classification is to provide detailed requirements for shipping papers, package marking, labelling, and transport vehicle placarding applicable to the shipment and transportation of hazardous materials. For each hazardous material, the classification provides:

Shipping Name Describes the item ordered or shipped. Shipping names are regulated in some cases.
Examples:
Calcium hydrogen sulfite solution
Epichlorohydrin
Fuel oil
Mercuric oleate, solid
Petroleum Distillate
Small arms ammunition

Hazard Class Categorizes the hazardous material. Most hazardous materials belong to only one hazard class. Some materials belong to more than one hazard class and some materials do not belong to any. If a material belongs to more than one hazard class, you should list these classes in a specific order.
Examples:
Corrosive Material
Flammable liquid
Forbidden
Combustible liquid
Poison A
ORM-A
Class A explosive

Identification Number Identifies the hazardous material. Each identification number has a description. There are two types of identification numbers. Identification numbers preceded by "UN" (United Nations) have descriptions appropriate for international and US domestic shipments. Identification numbers preceded by "NA" (North American) apply only to US domestic shipments and shipments between the US and Canada. Identification numbers are not unique. For instance, the same UN Number may correspond to two closely related but different types of materials.
Examples:
UN0001 Alarm Devices, Explosives
UN0027 Black powder
UN0180 Rockets
NA1133 Cement
NA2016 Grenade
UN2016 Ammunition
UN2769 Benzoic derivative pesticide, liquid
UN2769 Benzoic derivative pesticide, solid

Some hazardous materials do not have a corresponding identification number.
Examples:
Fuse, lighter
Propellant, explosive, liquid

In some cases, hazardous materials that you identify by the same identification number can belong to two different hazard classes.
Example:
Fuel, aviation, turbine engine has the ID Number UN1863, but it can be in either the Flammable Liquid or the Combustible Liquid hazard class.

Labels Required Specifies the labels required for each package of the hazardous material. The regulations provide detailed instruction concerning the format, size, colors, and printing of labels.
Examples:
Flammable liquid
Explosive C
Poison B

Packaging Requirements Specify the packaging and placarding requirements and exceptions for the hazardous material. Packaging requirements depend mainly on the hazard class for the hazardous material, but there are many exceptions to this rule.
Shipping Requirements Specify the maximum amount of hazardous material you can carry per package depending on the mode of transportation you use. Also provide additional shipping, handling, storing, or other information about the hazardous material.
Examples:
Keep dry
Keep cool
Store away from acids

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