by Alicia MacLeay
Having trouble ordering a 4-fluid-ounce isobutane/propane fuel canister online? Get ready to drive to your local outdoor store instead. Many online retailers have pulled the smaller fuel canisters from their offerings due to a recent Department of Transportation (DOT) conclusion that outdoor retailers and manufacturers are not complying with hazmat regulations. Compliance requires the addition of hazmat fees, increasing the cost of small isobutane/propane shipments.
In a 2002 letter interpreting hazmat regulations to an MSR manager, the DOT wrote: “a mixture of liquefied compressed gases in a container of not more than four (4) fluid ounces capacity” could be exempted from hazardous material packaging and labeling requirements except when shipped by air, in part because the small canisters qualified as a “consumer commodity.” This allowed fuel shipped in such containers to be reclassified as “other regulated material –domestic,” or OSM-D, allowing carriers to waive hazmat fees.
Earlier this year, a DOT inspector measured a canister containing 4 fluid ounces of gas a consumer was shipping by air to Alaska and found the canister could accommodate 6 fluid ounces. Manufacturers say they’ve been shipping 4 fluid ounces of gas in containers of at least 6 fluid ounces to allow room for the gas to expand, but the DOT determined the larger canisters are not OSM-D compliant. After inspecting other retailers and manufacturers, the DOT said the canisters must be labeled as a hazardous material, adding significant hazmat fees.
Many online retailers are no longer shipping the fuel canisters directly to customers.
For now, you may need to visit your local outdoor retailer to buy a 4-fluid-ounce isobutane/propane fuel canister.
Full story: Outdoor Industry Association’s “Loss of HazMat Exemption Raising Shipping Costs for Small Fuel Canisters”
