New federal rules take effect Feb. 14 for diagnostic-specimen transport

Brief
January 16, 2003

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently adopted new regulations for shipping and transporting diagnostic specimens on public roadways, which will affect some Fred Hutchinson and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance programs.

These requirements take effect Friday, Feb. 14, and apply to the transport of any human or animal materials, including excreta, secreta, blood, blood components, tissue, and tissue fluids sent for diagnostic or investigational purposes. A safer packaging system will be required, similar to the packaging already used for shipping such materials on aircraft.

Detailed information about the new requirements is available on the Environmental Health & Safety Internet site at http://www.fhcrc.org/admin/facilities/ehs/dot.htm.

Chapter VII of the Hazard Awareness and Management Manual also has been revised to reflect the changes and is available on the site.

Unlike with other federal hazardous materials, formal training certification and record keeping will not be required for staff who ship diagnostic specimens, as long as the new instructions are followed.

One change with the new regulations is a quantity limit of 500 milliliters or 500 grams per sample and 4 liters per 4 kilograms of total samples per package.

Another new requirement is that the completed package must be capable of passing a drop test, and the package must be labeled with the words "Diagnostic Specimen."

Certain materials are exempt from the new rules, such as blood collected for transfusions and biological products already regulated by FDA or USDA.

For more information, consult the EH&S Internet site or call 206-667-4250.

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