Chemical transportation is a challenging yet essential task that requires adequate training and expertise. If you’re trying to break into this area, then you definitely have a lot to learn.
The good news is that you’ve come to the right place since we here at RPM have extensive knowledge in this area.
Better yet, we are going to share it with you in this guide to everything you need to know about chemical transportation:
What Are the Different Ways to Transport Chemicals?
There are four different ways to transport chemicals: by air, sea, rail, and road. Let’s explore each one so that you can choose the right transportation method for your chemical shipments:
1. Air
The first way to transport chemicals is through the air in an airplane. Specifically, cargo airlines are used to transport chemicals internationally. This method is incredibly efficient since planes can reach locations in hours.
At the same time, it can also be incredibly expensive and potentially dangerous as not all chemicals can be safely transported by air.
2. Sea
The second way to transport chemicals is by sea on a cargo ship. This transportation method helps shippers reach locations that would be impossible to reach using trucks or trains.
At the same time, this method can take a long time as cargo ships tend to be quite slow thanks to heavy loads.
3. Rail
The third way to transport chemicals is by rail on a train. Trains are used to transport all sorts of cargo, and chemicals can definitely be one of them. You can even use special wagons, platforms, and containers when transporting chemicals via train. However, this method relies heavily on existing infrastructure and networks that may not reach all areas.
4. Road
The fourth and final way to transport chemicals is by road on a truck. Trucks are used to essentially fill in the gaps between the methods above since airplanes stop at airports, boats stop at ports, and trains stop at train stations. On the other hand, trucks can go pretty much anywhere so long as there’s a road, making them by far the best way to transport chemicals.
What Are the Advantages of Transporting Chemicals By Road?
Even though there are several different ways that you can transport chemicals, transporting chemicals by road offers a unique set of advantages, including:
- Temperature compliance
- Full container loading
- Oversized
- Heavy cargo capabilities,
- consolidation of cargo,
- Economical and efficient service.
1. Temperature Compliance
You can easily maintain proper temperatures when you transport chemicals by road, thanks to temperature-controlled trailers known as reefers.
Reefer trucks have a system that works similar to that in your kitchen refrigerator, involving compressors, condensers, evaporators, and insulation. These trucks are quite common and are used to transport everything from food items to pharmaceutical products.
Using these trucks allows you to choose and maintain a specific temperature that’s ideal for the chemicals being transported. This can help avoid unintentional reactions as some chemicals cannot be heated while others cannot be cooled.
For example, chemicals like pyrophoric compounds, strong oxidizers, and peroxides should not be heated.
But say that you have to transport these chemicals through the desert in Arizona in the middle of the summer. How can you prevent them from heating up?
Using a reefer truck can help keep these chemicals cooled despite hot exterior temperatures.
2. Full Container Loading
When you transport chemicals by road in a truck, you’re able to load the full container instead of being limited to a partial load. This means that you’re able to transport more chemicals at once — saving time and money in the process.
3. Oversized and Heavy Cargo
Transporting chemicals by road allows you to transport oversized and heavy cargo that would be difficult or impossible to ship using other methods. There are tons of different trailer options to choose from that are able to handle large, irregularly shaped, and heavy chemical shipments.
Take flatbed trucks, for example. Flatbed trucks are able to carry about 48,000 pounds without an issue. There are also lowboy trucks to consider when transporting chemicals that can carry up to 80,000 pounds depending on the number of axles.
4. Consolidation of Cargo
Transporting chemicals by road also allows you to consolidate your cargo. This transport option allows you to quickly and easily consolidate your chemical cargo into warehouses all over the country.
5. Economical and Efficient
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, transporting chemicals by road is economical and efficient. Trucks are the foundation of the supply chain and can be used to transport anything, anywhere, and at any time.
Since there are so many of them out there, transporting with this method is cheaper than alternatives while also being more efficient since most trucks can go from the East Coast of the United States to the West Coast in about a week’s time.
How to Choose a Chemical Transporter?
Clearly, there are tons of benefits to transporting chemicals by road. That being said, you can only reap these benefits when you work with the right chemical transporter.
Where to Find a Chemical Transporter?
Chemical transport is a pretty niche area, which means that it can be pretty difficult to find a company that offers this service. If you have any colleagues that also work in this area, you could ask them what transporter they use.
However, if you’re unable to get any personal recommendations, the next best place to look for a chemical transporter is online.
Conduct a simple internet search for the best chemical transporters in your area. You should come up with a list of potential contenders and begin your vetting process.
How to Vet a Chemical Transporter?
Vetting a chemical transporter can be challenging if you don’t know what to look for. A good place to start is with licensing and insurance.
Make sure that your potential contenders are all properly licensed and insured by checking the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) database.
In addition, you need to make sure that they have a Hazardous Materials Safety Permit (HMSP) issued by the FMCSA.
Once you’ve made sure that they’re properly licensed, permitted, and insured, you can move on to making sure that they’re reputable.
Check to make sure that their reviews are generally positive. Since online reviews aren’t 100% reliable, feel free to reach out to them for a list of references that you can check out yourself.
From there, check out their services and network to make sure that it’s a good fit. For example, some transporters only offer full truck loads (FTL) while others offer less-than truck loads (LTL).
Some transporters only work with dry vans rather than flatbeds, reefers, or lowboys. On the other hand, some transporters don’t have a big enough network to be an effective partner.
After you’ve sufficiently narrowed down your list to your final contenders, you can reach out to them for more information and specific quotes regarding the services and loads you’re looking for.
Make your final determination, keeping in mind that the cheapest company might not be the best one. After all, you get what you pay for, and when it comes to chemicals, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
What Types of Chemicals Can Be Transported?
Not all chemicals are the same. In fact, there are two different types of chemicals you should know about: hazardous chemicals and non-hazardous chemicals.
Both of these types of chemicals can be transported, although they require different processes and precautions.
Hazardous Chemicals
Although there is no universally-accepted definition of “hazardous chemicals,” this term generally refers to chemicals that pose a danger to facilities, human health, and the environment.
Another definition states that hazardous chemicals present physical, health, and environmental hazards.
The Environmental Protection Agency considers health hazards to include carcinogens, toxins, reproductive toxins, irritants, corrosive neurotoxins, hepatotoxins, and chemicals that damage the lungs, skin, eyes, or mucous membranes.
The EPA considers physical hazards to include chemicals that are combustible, explosive, flammable, oxidizers, reactive, unstable, and water-reactive.
Here are some examples of the different types of hazardous chemicals, as well as the specific names of some chemicals that fall under these different types:
- Explosive Chemicals:
- Ammonium nitrate
- Ethylene oxide
- Nitroglycerine
- Picramide
- Sodium dinitrophenol
- Flammable Gases:
- Propane
- Hydrogen
- Methane
- Acetylene
- Iso-butane
- Reactive Chemicals:
- Ammonium perchlorate
- Picric acid
- Nitrate esters
- Triazines
- Azides
- Combustible Chemicals:
- Gasoline
- Acetone
- Toluene
- Diethyl ether
- Alcohols
- Oxidizing Chemicals:
- Bromine
- Chromic acid
- Dibenzoyl peroxide
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Sodium perchlorate
Non-Hazardous Chemicals
Contrary to popular belief, not all chemicals are hazardous. Non-hazardous chemicals have been evaluated to determine that they do not present physical or health hazards.
Non-hazardous chemicals include things like pharmaceuticals, mineral fertilizers, disinfectants, edible oils, and surfactants. Some specific examples of non-hazardous chemicals include:
- Calcium citrate
- Ethanol with a 10% or less concentration
- Folic acid
- Glucose
- Glycerin
- Hydrocortisone
- Hydrogen peroxide with a 3% or less concentration
- Magnesium hydroxide
- Pantothenic acid
- Xylitol
However, just because these chemicals are considered non-hazardous doesn’t mean that you can neglect them during transport. Instead, treat these chemicals like you would any other fragile shipment to ensure that they stay safely sealed within their containers.
How Can I Safely Store Hazardous Chemicals?
Safe storage of hazardous chemicals is an important component of the safe transport of hazardous chemicals. After all, chemicals need to be stored to be transported. Here are some tips to help you safely store hazardous chemicals and prepare them for transport:
- All hazardous chemicals need to be properly labeled with the name of the substance and any hazard warnings
- Incompatible hazardous chemicals need to be properly segregated to prevent potential mixing and reactions
- Chemicals should be stored based on compatibility and not alphabetically
- Liquids should be stored in unbreakable or double-contained packaging to prevent problematic leakage
- Chemical storage areas need to be kept clean and organized so that you can easily notice leaking or deteriorating containers, spilled chemicals, and a lack of information or warning signs
- Chemical storage areas need to be kept at an ideal temperature with adequate lighting and proper exits
What Precautions Exist for Transporting Chemicals?
When transporting chemicals, you must follow these precautions in order to ensure your safety:
1. Never Travel With Food
You should never transport chemicals along with food, even if they are in separate containers. This is because the chemicals could potentially spill or leak out of these containers and affect the food.
In some instances, cross-contamination as a result of spilled chemicals is obvious, but in others, it could be invisible. As a result, you should never travel with both chemicals and food in the trailer.
2. Separate Incompatible Substances
When transporting chemicals, it’s also extremely important to keep incompatible substances properly separated throughout the journey. Improper separation could potentially lead to a hazardous reaction in the event that two incompatible substances mix together. Start by storing these substances in approved chemical storage containers.
Here are some separation guidelines to help you take the proper precautions when transporting chemicals:
- Flammable and combustible substances should be separated from acids and oxidizers
- Acids and bases should be kept separate
- Acids should be separated from reactive metals, including sodium, potassium, and magnesium
- Acids should be separated from potentially toxic or flammable gases, including sodium cyanide, iron sulfide, and calcium carbide
3. Ensure Proper Loading and Securing
Proper storage isn’t the only vital component of safely dealing with chemicals — you also need to load and secure them properly. Take note of potentially hazardous chemicals and handle them with care during the loading process.
From there, make sure that all containers are properly secured and sealed so that they don’t move around or leak during transport.
4. Travel With Your Shipping Paperwork
Once the chemicals are properly stored, loaded, and secured, you still need to travel with the necessary paperwork that details what exactly it is that you’re transporting. Information about hazardous chemicals and non-hazardous chemicals can be placed on the same document, so long as the hazardous chemicals are listed first or distinguished by color, highlight, etc.
According to federal regulations, you are required to have the following information clearly listed on your shipping paperwork when transporting hazardous chemicals:
- The identification number found in the Hazardous Materials Table
- The proper shipping name according to the Hazardous Materials Table
- The hazard class
- The packing group identified in Roman numerals
- The total quantity of chemical materials
- The number and type of packaging holding the chemical contents
This paperwork must be within the driver’s reach with the seat belt on and must be visible to first responders entering the vehicle. After the shipment, the driver must maintain the shipping papers for one year after the acceptance of the shipment or three years for hazardous wastes.
5. Create Emergency and Security Plans
Finally, you need to have emergency and security plans when transporting chemicals to ensure proper response and proper security. In terms of an emergency plan, there must be an emergency response telephone number monitored at all times the material is in transportation.
The telephone number must go to a person who is knowledgeable of the material being shipped and has comprehensive emergency response information related to that material. An answering service does not meet this requirement. Additionally, emergency response information must be maintained in legible English and stored away from the materials.
For hazardous chemicals, you are required to have a security plan to keep these materials safe and secure during transit. All employees must also be trained on this security plan so that it can be maintained.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for the best chemical transporter, then you need to check out RPM. RPM is an experienced chemical transporter with an extensive network of carriers that are able to transport both non-hazardous and hazardous chemicals.
With our network of over 30,000 carriers, we can handle any and all chemical transportation needs, including LTL, FTL, intermodal, cross-border, and drayage. We provide all modes of transportation and equipment types for our customers, including dry van, flatbed, temperature-controlled, bulk, dump, specialized, and hopper.
We have nearly ten years of experience in this space, making us the perfect logistics partner. In addition to experience, we have the numbers — handling 15,000 shipments a month — making us a top logistics provider in freight transportation.
Reach out to our logistics experts today to learn more about our services and start working with us.
Sources:
Definition of Hazardous Chemical | EPA
Chemical Storage Guidelines from the CDC | EHSO
How to Comply with Federal Hazardous Materials Regulations | FMCSA
