EHS&RM offers a full range of hazardous material shipping services (at cost) for the Las Cruces campus and will assist remote NMSU facilities with any hazardous material shipping needs.
The federal and international regulations governing the shipping and transportation of hazardous materials (dangerous goods) are very complex and the regulatory fines for improper shipping and transportation can be very high. All personnel involved in the shipping process must have formal, specialized hazardous material shipper training to ensure the packaging, labeling, and shipping documentation all meet strict regulatory requirements.
Shipping a Package Containing Hazardous Material
At NMSU, many packages containing hazardous material are shipped every year to other institutions or government agencies such a national laboratories. These packages contain a wide variety of research samples, specialty chemical reagents, scientific instruments and more. General types of regulated hazardous materials commonly shipped from NMSU include:
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Hazardous Chemicals,
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Biohazard Materials,
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Radioactive Materials,
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Lithium Batteries,
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Dry Ice
EHS&RM has staff with the training and technical expertise needed to ensure any package containing a hazardous material is safely and legally shipped.
To ship using EHS&RM services, please review the procedure below and send a completed Hazardous Material Shipping Form to EHS&RM at ehs@nmsu.edu. Notify EHS&RM and send the form at least 3-days in advance of the anticipated shipping date so EHS&RM staff have time to review the information and research the regulatory requirements for shipping the material. An EHS&Rm representative will contact you to set a pickup and shipping schedule.
If you have questions about shipping a hazardous material, please contact EHS&RM at 575-646-3327 or at ehs@nmsu.edu.
Transporting Hazardous Materials in University Vehicles
Small quantities of many types of hazardous materials are allowed to be transported in university vehicles as long as the transportation meets the USDOT Materials of Trade exemption regulations.
There are many instances where transporting a hazardous material in a university vehicle is required to perform university business. For example,
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Transporting sample preservative to and from field sampling sites,
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Transporting chemical reagents from one lab to another building on campus,
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Transporting, paint, primer, solvents, cleaners, etc. for repairs and maintenance activities.
The MOT exemption allows employees to legally transport small quantities of certain types of hazardous materials in university vehicles for activities that directly support the business mission. This includes activities that directly support the NMSU teaching, research, creative, and clinical missions.
Hazardous materials transported under the MOT exemption are exempt from many, but not all, of the formal transportation requirements in the USDOT hazardous material transportation regulations. Contact EHS&RM at 575-646-3327 or ehs@nmsu.edu if you have any questions about transporting hazardous materials.
Shipping Dry Ice (Only) Packages Yourself
If you want to ship a package containing dry ice, and the dry ice is the only hazardous material in the package, you can ship it without going through EHS&RM. However, as with any other regulated hazardous material, USDOT regulations requires that the shipper must be properly trained and certified for this job-specific function.
If you want to ship your own package (dry ice only), please use the following links to access the university's online Dry Ice Shipper Training / Certification and other dry ice shipping resources.
Alternatively, EHS&RM shipping service is also available using same procedure used for shipping other hazardous materials.
Hazardous Material Shipper Training & Certification
In special circumstances, EHS&RM can certify people to ship different types (other than dry ice) of hazardous materials. The training and certification process are described below:
