Effective May 2, 2024, the Postal Service™ is revising Publication 52, Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail (Pub 52), subchapter 34, to reflect a change in Postal Service mail-product requirements regarding shipping mailable sharps medical waste and regulated medical waste.
The change requires customers to use USPS Ground Advantage® USPS Returns® Service instead of Priority Mail® USPS Returns Service when shipping mailable sharps medical waste and regulated medical waste via the Postal Service. The Postal Service will also revise Appendix C in Pub 52 to reflect this change.
Although the Postal Service will not publish these revisions in Pub 52 until later, the standards are effective immediately.
Publication 52, Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail
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3 Hazardous Materials
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34 Mailability by Hazard Class
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346 Toxic Substances and Infectious Substances (Hazard Class 6)
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346.3 Packaging, Marking, Labeling, and Documentation
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346.32 Division 6.2, Infectious Substances
[Delete the introductory text of 346.32 in its entirety.]
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346.322 Sharps Waste and Other Mailable Regulated Medical Waste
[Revise the last sentence of the introductory text to read as follows:]
***Regulated medical waste and sharps medical waste as defined in 346.12f and 346.12g and containing materials classified as Category B infectious substances must be marked “UN3291” and are permitted for mailing only using USPS Returns Service (see DMM 505.3) with USPS Ground Advantage, subject to the following requirements:
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Appendix C
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USPS Packaging Instruction 6D
Sharps Waste and Other Regulated Medical Waste
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Mailability
[Revise the text of the second bullet to read as follows:]
n Domestic Mail: Permitted using only USPS Returns Service via USPS Ground Advantage option.
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The Postal Service will incorporate these revisions into the next edition of online Publication 52, which is available via Postal Explorer® at pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification,
Product Solutions, 5-2-24
