Fiber Drum Packaging for Transporting Liquid Hazardous Materials

The purpose of this study was to assess the safety of nonspecification open-head fiber drums for the transport of hazardous liquids. The Committee on Fiber Drum Packaging for Transporting Hazardous Materials reviewed information on the shipping history of hazardous liquids in such drums but was unable to verify the safety record reported by the fiber drum industry because of incomplete data. Available data are insufficient to demonstrate conclusively that the hazardous liquids in question can be transported safely in nonspecification open-head fiber drums with very little danger of harm to the public or the environment. The committee's analysis of the International Fibre Drum Institute (IFDI) and Department of Transportation (DOT) Docket HM-181 tests indicated that the former are primarily manufacturing quality checks; as such, they do not ensure the same level of structural robustness in response to transportation hazards as the regulatory requirements for the safe transport of hazardous material embodied in HM-181. On the basis of its review and analysis of shipping history and the alternative IFDI tests, the committee determined that DOT should not extend the authorization to ship hazardous liquids in nonspecification open-head fiber drums beyond September 30, 1997.