IMM Revision: Changes in Options for Mailable Dangerous Goods

Effective January 5, 2008, the Postal Service™ is revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Ser­vice, International Mail Manual (IMM^®) 135 to specify how mailers may send certain mailable dangerous goods in international mail, as noted below:

• Mailers must send Category B infectious substances only by First-Class Mail International^® service using registered mail service.
• Mailers must send nonregulated materials and exempt human or animal specimens only by First-Class Mail International service.

These revisions replace those announced in the article titled “IMM Revision: Mailable Dangerous Goods” in Postal Bulletin 22217 (10-11-07, page 17).

We encourage mailers to make the related changes to their mailings as soon as possible.

Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM)

1 International Mail Services

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130 Mailability

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135 Mailable Dangerous Goods 135.1 Infectious Substances

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135.12 Type of Mail

[Revise the text to read as follows (indicating mailing requirements for Category B infectious substances and nonregulated materials and exempt human or animal specimens):]

Category B infectious substances must be sent only by First-Class Mail International service using registered mail service. Nonregulated materials defined in DMM 601.10.17.3 and exempt human or animal specimens defined in DMM 601.10.17.2d are mailable by First-Class Mail International service when properly packaged as described in DMM 601.17.

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135.3 Packaging, Marking, Labeling 135.31 Category B Infectious Substances

[Revise the first sentence of the introductory paragraph to read as follows (indicating mailing requirements for Cate­gory B infectious substances):]

A material that is classified as a Category B infectious sub­stance and that meets the definition in DMM 601.10.17.2a2 must be triple-packaged as described in DMM 601.10.17.4, must meet the packaging requirements in 49 CFR 173.199, and must be sent only by First-Class Mail International service using registered mail service.***

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We will incorporate these revisions into the next printed version of the IMM and also into the online version of the IMM, which can be accessed via Postal Explorer^® at http://pe.usps.com.

— Mailing Standards,
Pricing and Classification, 1-3-08