Improvements to Hazardous Materials Identification Systems; Corrections and Responses to Petition for Reconsideration

SUMMARY: In this rule, RSPA is making changes to a final rule published on January 8, 1997, in which RSPA amended the Hazardous Materials Regulations to better identify and communicate the hazards associated with hazardous materials in transportation in commerce. This final rule corrects errors in, and responds to petitions for reconsideration of, the January 8, 1997 final rule. The changes in this final rule include postponement until October 1, 1998, of the effective date of the January 8, 1997 final rule, and October 1, 1999, of the date for compliance with a requirement for new labels on packagings containing materials poisonous by inhalation. As modified by this final rule, the January 8, 1997 final rule is intended to assist emergency response personnel in responding to and mitigating the effects of incidents involving the transportation of hazardous materials, and to improve safety to transportation workers and the public.

RSPA is providing electronic copies (Windows Bitmaps) of the labels and placards required for materials that are poisonous by inhalation. The files have been zipped to reduce the amount of download time and can be unzipped using WinZip, PKUNZIP, or any other decompressing utility.

View/Print Public Comments submitted to the Federal Document Management System from the link to the right. NOTE: search for comments using the entire FR number (for example "72 FR 71735"). Not all items will have submitted public comments.