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9.4 – Loading and Unloading Hazardous Cargo (Part 3)

Class 2 (Compressed Gases) Including Cryogenic Liquids. If your vehicle does not have racks to hold cylinders, the cargo space floor must be flat. The cylinders must be:

• Held upright.
• In racks attached to the vehicle or in boxes that will keep them from turning over.

Cylinders may be loaded in a horizontal position (lying down) if it is designed so the relief valve is in the vapor space.

Division 2.3 (Poisonous Gas) or Division 6.1 (Poisonous) Materials. Never transport these materials in containers with interconnections. Never load a package labeled POISON or POISON INHALATION HAZARD in the driver's cab or sleeper or with food material for human or animal consumption. There are special rules for loading and unloading Class 2 materials in cargo tanks. You must have special training to do this.

Class 7 (Radioactive) Materials. Some packages of Class 7 (Radioactive) materials bear a number called the “transport index.” The shipper labels these packages Radioactive II or Radioactive III and prints the package's transport index on the label. Radiation surrounds each package, passing through all nearby packages. To deal with this problem, the number of packages you can load together is controlled. Their closeness to people, animals, and unexposed film is also controlled.

The transport index tells the degree of control needed during transportation. The total transport index of all packages in a single vehicle must not exceed 50. Table A (Figure 9.10), Page 121, shows rules for each transport index. It shows how close you can load Class 7 (Radioactive) materials to people, animals, or film. For example, you cannot leave a package with a transport index of 1.1 within 2 feet of people or cargo space walls.

Mixed Loads. The rules require some products to be loaded separately. You cannot load them together in the same cargo space. Figure 9.9 lists some examples. The regulations (the Segregation Table for Hazardous Materials) name other materials you must keep apart.