When shipping any automotive hazardous materials, such as air bags, seat belt pretensioners, brake boosters, compressed gas shocks, batteries, paint, solvents, and other parts, to the Warranty Parts Center (WPC), dealership service agents must follow all hazardous material (hazmat) shipping requirements. (Fig. 14) The shipments must comply with applicable federal regulations, including being properly classified, described, marked, packaged, labeled, and in condition for shipment, and all persons performing the shipping functions in the dealership must be trained and certified.
Fig. 14
If the shipment is found in violation of Dangerous Good shipping protocol for any reason, the claim will be debited. In addition, any person knowingly violating a Hazmat shipping requirement is liable for each offense.
Training and Certification
At least one person (and preferably two or more) at the dealership must maintain hazmat training/certification. Refresher training for ground transport is required every three years per federal regulation. There are several companies that provide training/certification. Refer to Bulletin #99-00-89-019 for more information.
Identifying Hazardous Parts
When printing out the WPC shipping label, the label might indicate that it is not hazardous. The label designation is based on a new or unused part. Any part that comes in contact with flammable liquid is considered a hazardous material.
For example, if a fuel line received from the parts warehouse is new and unused, it is not considered a hazmat material. However, if the same part has been installed in a vehicle and has been in contact with fuel, it is now considered a hazardous material and should be shipped following hazmat regulations.
TIP: Hazardous materials should only be shipped to the WPC using Central Transport. Hazardous materials should never be sent by air transportation.
Returning Parts
In the interest of safety and complying with requirements, GM does not accept returns of hazardous material other than core, warranty returns, and batteries through the Material Return Program. Hazardous material products not accepted should be designated as “field scrap” and disposed of by the dealership in accordance with federal and local regulations.
– Thanks to Ed Laskowski
Refer to the latest version of Bulletin #99-00-89-019 for additional information about shipping materials to the WPC, including packaging and labels.
Where do we get the proper boxing and labels from? We do not have at our store and need more information seeing how we are getting hazmat requests every week now.
THEY SHOULD COME OUT WITH A CLASS THAT ONLY RELATES TO GM RETURNS AND ONLY CENTRAL FRIEGHT PAPER WORK READING THE GM BULLTINS AND FEDERAL PAPER WORK DOES NO MAKE SENSE NEEDS TO BE SIMPLE