10:53 – Over the weekend, Barbara and I got a good start on making up a batch of 28 chemistry kits. The chemical bottles have to be divided into groups to comply with hazardous material shipping regulations. We finished up Group D, which contains the 26 unregulated chemicals. Those don’t require the caps to be taped or shrink-wrapped. All 26 of them simply go into a plastic bag–one of the kind used in supermarkets–which is then tied off.
Groups A (five strong acids), B (three strong bases), and C (four flammable liquids) each require the caps to be taped or otherwise sealed, and each group has to go into its own sealed plastic bag. Then one each of bags A, B, C, and D go into yet another plastic bag with a large scoop of vermiculite (to absorb leaks). Doing all that qualifies the kit to ship under section 173.4 (small quantity exemption), which means the kits can ship via USPS Priority Mail (air) rather than having to go ORMD Parcel Post (ground).
Barbara is getting ready to leave Wednesday on a Thanksgiving trip with her parents. She returns late Sunday. Colin and I are planning wild women and parties while she’s gone.
I was about to send my nephew a model rocket kit and I had bought some of the engines to include. I wonder if those engines have shipping restrictions? Hmmmm…
Almost certainly they do. Technically, you’d probably be breaking the law by shipping the kit via USPS, UPS, or FedEx. Obviously, your chance of getting caught would probably be small. (I don’t think a model rocket engine would be likely to set off sniffers, but who knows?)
The financial risk can be huge, however. One moron was selling liquid mercury on eBay, and shipping it (Air, no less) in glass containers. One of those containers broke aboard a cargo jet. Mercury eats aluminum. The mercury leaked out of the container and ended up doing severe structural damage to the cargo jet. The shipper and DOT officials were not even slightly amused. The moron ended up being liable for the damages. I think they scrapped the jet.
I ordered a rocket kit online and it came, engines and all, by mail.
I’ll probably just mail it parcel post and take my chances. :/
RBT wrote:
“One moron was selling liquid mercury on eBay, and shipping it (Air, no less) in glass containers. One of those containers broke aboard a cargo jet. Mercury eats aluminum. The mercury leaked out of the container and ended up doing severe structural damage to the cargo jet. The shipper and DOT officials were not even slightly amused. The moron ended up being liable for the damages. I think they scrapped the jet.”
Scrapped the jet? How many litres of mercury was being shipped?
I successfully sent 3 packages of model rocket engines to my nephew via UPS Ground. 🙂