5800.1 Regulatory Reporting

As specified in § 171.16(a), each person in physical possession of a hazardous material when an incident occurs must file a Hazardous Materials Incident Report on DOT Form F 5800.1 to the Department. See § 171.16(b) for information on providing and retaining copies of the incident report, details of where to obtain the forms, and where to file the forms.

In accordance with § 171.16(a), a person must submit a detailed incident report to the Department within 30 days of discovery of the incident.

As specified in § 171.15(a), each person in physical possession of a hazardous material when an incident occurs must provide notice by telephone to the National Response Center (NRC) 1–800–424–8802 (toll free) or 1–202–267–2675 (toll call). Any person who performs or is contractually responsible to perform any of the HMR functions is legally responsible under the regulations for their proper performance.

In accordance with § 171.15(a), a person must provide notice by telephone as soon as practical but no later than 12 hours after the occurrence of any incident described in § 171.15(b). Any reporting delay beyond what is necessary to safely secure the scene of the incident is not permitted.

The answer is yes. Components of a highway, such as access roads and interchange areas that provide access to highways—including interstate highways—are considered components of a "major transportation artery or facility," and are thus subject to the requirements in § 171.15(b)(1)(iv).

If an incident occurs while the carrier that delivered the hazardous material is observing or participating in the unloading operation, the incident must be reported because the carrier is deemed to be in possession of the hazardous material at that point— i.e., the incident occurred during transportation. For these incidents, the carrier transporting the hazardous material or other bulk packaging must complete a DOT Form F 5800.1 hazardous materials incident report.

However, if an incident occurs or is discovered while a consignee is unloading a hazardous material from a transport vehicle or emptying a bulk packaging after the carrier has delivered the material and left the premises, the incident is not required to be reported because the incident occurs or is discovered after transportation has ended. As such, the consignee is not required to file a DOT Form F 5800.1 report for an undeclared shipment or a damaged or leaking shipment that is discovered after the carrier has delivered the hazardous material.  

Please note that it is possible that a release of this nature is subject to local, state, or federal reporting requirements. We suggest you contact the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at 1–800–424–9346. Additionally, if a person is injured or killed Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) reporting may be required—OSHA's 24-hour hotline is 1–800–321–6742. See 29 CFR 1904.39 for requirements specific to reporting fatalities, hospitalizations, amputations, and losses of an eye as a result of work-related incidents to OSHA.

The nature of an undeclared shipment is such that complete information about the shipment may not be known at the time of discovery. If the undeclared shipment is discovered because material was released from the package during transportation, then the information in Part II and Part III of the incident report should be completed to the extent that specific information is known.

Similarly, Parts IV and V of the report concerning the consequences of the incident should also be completed. If the undeclared shipment is discovered and no material was released from the package, then the person filing the report should provide as much information as possible, including the carrier information in item 10 of Part II, the shipper/offeror information in item 11 of Part II, and the shipment origin and destination information in items 12 and 13 of Part II.  

For all reports related to undeclared shipments, the events that led to the discovery of the undeclared shipment should be included in Part VI of the report. Finally, for all reports related to undeclared shipments, Part VIII should be completed to provide contact information. For information that is not known at the time the undeclared shipment is discovered, an indication in the report that the information is not known is acceptable.

The report must be accessible through your company's principal place of business or, if maintained elsewhere, be made available at your principal place of business within 24 hours of a request for the report if maintained at other than the reporting person's principal place of business. See § 171.16(b)(3) for requirements specific to retention of an incident report.

The answer is yes. Regardless of whether a hazardous material is actually released, if a major transportation artery or facility is closed or shut down for one hour or more, the incident must be reported in accordance with § 171.15. In addition, under § 171.16(a)(1), any time immediate notice is required under § 171.15(b), a written report is also required within 30 days of the discovery of an incident.

A package containing only a residue of hazardous material is not excepted from incident reporting. See 173.29(a). Section 171.16(d) provides exceptions from incident reporting, which include some scenarios that could apply to a packaging containing only a residue. However, there are no specific provisions that apply to empty packaging’s containing a residue of a hazardous material. There are scenarios where an incident report must be filed, such as when a Packing Group (PG) II hazardous material released from a drum containing only residue of the hazardous material.