KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — If you travel on an airplane carrying hazardous materials, you want the people who pack and handle these shipments to know what they’re doing.
So does the University of Tennessee.
The UT Center for Industrial Services soon will conduct a training course on safe handling of dangerous goods to be shipped by air, sometimes on passenger planes.
“Pharmaceutical labs, cosmetic companies, printing ink manufacturers and other companies send a lot of boxes of hazardous materials and dangerous goods by air,” said instructor Mike Moreland, a UT-Knoxville nuclear engineering graduate and founder of Moreland Inc., a waste transport firm.
“People handling these shipments have to be trained, tested and certified. They have to know what type of dangerous goods are on the aircraft. This class teaches them what is required.”
The UT course helps shippers, packers, cargo agents, pilots and airline staff become accredited by the International Air Transport Association to ship dangerous goods by air, Moreland said.
New government regulations on shipping dangerous goods by air has made training more vital, he said. The regulations apply to quantities, placement, packaging and labels, paperwork, prohibited materials and regulations.
There are nine classes of dangerous goods, including radioactive materials, poisons, explosives and corrosives, Moreland said. Some are household products, such as bleach, and others are more potentially dangerous if mishandled, he said.
The UT class will be held March 4-8, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., at the Sycamore View Holiday Inn in Memphis. Classes will be held in Nashville and Knoxville later this year.
Information is available from Bill Wiley at (423) 974-6621.
—
Contact: Bill Wiley (423-974-6621) or Mike Moreland (423-673-8916)