Description of hazardous material on shipping papers.

(a) The shipping description of a hazardous material on the shipping paper must include:

(1) The proper shipping name prescribed for the material in column 2 of the § 172.101 table;

(2) The hazard class or division prescribed for the material as shown in column 3 of the § 172.101 table (class names or subsidiary hazard class or division number may be entered following the numerical hazard class, or following the basic description). The hazard class need not be included for the entry “Combustible liquid, n.o.s.”;

(3) The identification number prescribed for the material as shown in column 4 of the § 172.101 table;

(4) The packing group in Roman numerals, as designated for the hazardous material in Column 5 of the § 172.101 Table. Class 1 (explosives) materials, self-reactive substances, organic peroxides and entries that are not assigned a packing group are excepted from this requirement. The packing group may be preceded by the letters “PG” (for example, “PG II”); and

(5) Except for empty packagings (see § 173.29 of this subchapter), cylinders for Class 2 (compressed gases) materials, and bulk packagings, the total quantity (by net or gross mass, capacity, or as otherwise appropriate), including the unit of measurement, of the hazardous material covered by the description (e.g., “800 lbs”, “55 gal.”, “3629 kg”, or “208 L”). For cylinders for Class 2 (compressed gases) materials and bulk packagings, some indication of total quantity must be shown (e.g., “10 cylinders” or “1 cargo tank”).

(b) Except as provided in this subpart, the basic description specified in paragraphs (a) (1), (2), (3) and (4) of this section must be shown in sequence with no additional information interspersed. For example: “Gasoline, 3, UN 1203, PG II”.

(c) The total quantity of the material covered by one description must appear before or after, or both before and after, the description required and authorized by this subpart. The type of packaging and destination marks may be entered in any appropriate manner before or after the basic description. Abbreviations may be used to express units of measurement and types of packagings.

(d) Technical and chemical group names may be entered in parentheses between the proper shipping name and hazard class or following the basic description. An appropriate modifier, such as “contains” or “containing,” and/or the percentage of the technical constituent may also be used. For example: “Flammable liquids, n.o.s. (contains Xylene and Benzene), 3, UN 1993, II”.

(e) Except for those materials in the UN Recommendations, the ICAO Technical Instructions, or the IMDG Code (see § 171.7 of this subchapter), a material that is not a hazardous material according to this subchapter may not be offered for transportation or transported when its description on a shipping paper includes a hazard class or an identification number specified in the § 172.101 Table.

[Amdt. 172-101, 45 FR 74665, Nov. 10, 1980, as amended by Amdt. 172-103, 51 FR 5970, Feb. 18, 1986; Amdt. 172-123, 55 FR 52589, Dec. 21, 1990; 56 FR 66252, Dec. 20, 1991; Amdt. 172-127, 57 FR 52938, Nov. 5, 1992; Amdt. 172-130, 58 FR 51531, Oct. 1, 1993; 66 FR 33425, June 21, 2001]