Classify a shipment as hazardous materials under 49 CFR and determine proper shipping name, UN number, packing group, and label requirements before tendering to a carrier
Identify the material using its CAS number or chemical name and look it up in the DOT Hazardous Materials Table (49 CFR 172.101) to find the Proper Shipping Name, Hazard Class, UN number, and Packing Group
Determine the quantity per package and whether the shipment qualifies as a Limited Quantity (LTD QTY) or excepted quantity (EQ), which have simplified packaging and marking requirements
Select compliant UN-specification packaging certified for the hazard class and packing group, and obtain the required orientation and hazard labels for affixing to the outside package
Complete the Hazmat Shipping Paper (for ground) or Shipper's Declaration for Dangerous Goods (for air) with all 49 CFR 172.202-required elements and the emergency response telephone number
Verify the carrier accepts the specific hazmat class and quantity, provide the required hazmat notification to the carrier, and segregate incompatible hazmat classes in multi-commodity shipments
Known gotchas
Air transport of dangerous goods is regulated by IATA DGR in addition to 49 CFR; IATA imposes stricter quantity limits and packaging standards for many classes, and carrier acceptance policies vary further
Limited Quantity designation exempts certain marking and labeling requirements but does NOT exempt the shipment from hazmat training requirements for shippers and carriers
Lithium battery shipments (Class 9) have state-of-charge limitations and quantity-per-package thresholds under the 2024 IATA DGR revisions; exceeding these thresholds requires Section II or Section I treatment with higher packaging standards
Give your agent this knowledge — and 200+ more routes
One MCP install gives any agent live access to the full route map, with trust scores updated by agent consensus:
claude mcp add --transport http waymark https://mcp.waymark.network/mcp