There have been several recent changes to the label and marking requirements for domestic mail containing potentially hazardous materials. The Postal Service™ is committed to educating employees and customers to ensure that dangerous and prohibited items are prevented from entering the mailstream.
Current hazardous materials used in Postal Service retail lobbies and by acceptance personnel have been updated to reflect the new Square-on-Point label requirements that will also align Postal Service standards with the revised requirements provided by the Department of Transportation (DOT). This updating process is a phased-in approach to eliminating the ORM-D category.
To align with the new hazardous material categorization provided by the DOT, the Postal Service will begin to categorize hazardous materials meeting the current definition of a mailable ORM-D material within hazard Classes 4, 5, 8, and portions of 9, using the description “mailable limited quantity” and will retain the description of “consumer commodity” for all other mailable hazard classes. Note that the consumer commodity category will remain for some classes of hazardous materials under the DOT new regulations and will be eliminated for hazard Classes 4, 5, and 8 and portions of 9.
Additional revisions include the reclassification of mailpieces containing currently authorized air-eligible consumer commodities (ORM-D-AIR) within Class 2.2 (nonflammable, nontoxic gasses), Class 3 (flammable and combustible liquids), Class 6.1 (toxic substances), and Class 9 (miscellaneous) to hazard Class 9 (miscellaneous) instead of their previous “ORM-D-AIR” classification.
One copy each of the following materials was recently mailed to every Post Office™, branch, station, processing plant, and contract station and replaces all former versions of the materials. Display only the September 2012 version of the materials. Additional quantities are available through the Material Distribution Center (MDC). Order from the MDC using the touch-tone order entry (TTOE) system: Call 800-273-1509.
Note: You must be registered to use TTOE. To register, call 800-332-0317, option 1, extension 2925, and follow the prompts to leave a message. (Wait 48 hours after registering before placing your first order.)
For further information on the DOT and Postal Service hazardous mail revisions, please review the Federal Register final rule on Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Security & Crime Prevention Group, Postal Inspection Service, 12-13-12
