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Article Number	000006986

Customer Information

Items possibly containing hazardous materials

Items containing mercury or explosives

You can find information on common hazardous, restricted and perishable materials in the summarized USPS.com Shipping Restrictions page, and the detailed Publication 52, Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail which also contains the Transportation Requirements in section 327.1. These guides identify many items by their common names and can help you determine what may be mailed and if special packaging Packaging Instruction 3A or other restrictions apply. The guide is completely searchable by keyword and links to more detailed information.

One of these guides is the "Hazardous Materials Table: Postal Service Mailability Guide," based on the online DOT Hazardous Materials Table. The information is modified to identify the mailability of each hazardous material (such as different acids and batteries) based on Postal Service mailing regulations.

A guide on making Hazardous Material shipping safer can be found in the HAZMAT Shipping Safety Guide | USPS Delivers.

Notes:

This table identifies the mailability of hazardous materials for domestic mail only.
Almost no hazardous materials are permitted in international mail.
- For information on mailability in international mail, see Chapter 6 and Exhibit 621.1.

The Hazardous Materials Table also lists the hazard class of a hazardous material. The mailability of hazardous materials by hazard class is further summarized for postal purposes by the "DOT Hazard Classes and Postal Mailability" table.

If you are a commercial mailer and have questions about the mailability of an item, contact the Mailing & Shipping Solutions Center for Mailing Requirements.

If a person knowingly mails items or materials that are dangerous or injurious to life, health, or property, they may face a civil penalty of at least $250, but not more than $100,000 per violation, the costs of any cleanup associated with each violation, and damages. They may also face criminal penalties.

Items possibly containing hazardous materials

Hazardous materials include any matter having a clear potential for causing harm to the mail, persons, or property involved in moving the mail. However, many commonly used items contain materials that are considered hazardous by U.S. Postal Service standards. Some fuel-containing items commonly found in the mail are:

Chainsaws
Lawn trimmers and edgers
Small motors and engines
Used fuel tanks (motorcycles, lawn mowers)

Small generators
Camp stoves
Gas lanterns or lamps
Model cars or aircraft

Each of the items listed is potentially mailable but only under one of the following conditions:

The item has never contained fuel, or
The fuel and all vapors have been completely purged from the item.
Note: If the item emits a fuel odor or if any residue is present on the outside or inside of the item, then the item is not completely purged.

Items containing fuel or fuel vapors are not mailable under any circumstances. Simply removing the fuel from an item does not make the item acceptable for mailing. Fuel tanks containing only vapors can have a greater explosion risk and thus become more hazardous than tanks that are full or partially full of fuel. The fuel must be removed and all vapors must be purged to allow these items to be safely mailed.

Presenting parcels and/or potentially hazardous materials to the Post Office™

At acceptance, Postal employees will ask, “Does this parcel contain anything liquid, fragile, perishable, or potentially hazardous?”
Postal employees will look out for parcels with items that could potentially contain fuel and advise mailers of the mailing limitations.
When accepting parcels, Postal employees will look for oil or fuel stains on the outside and fuel or petroleum odors.
If a mailpiece has markings denoting a flammable or combustible material, Postal employees will verify the contents with the mailer and with available references that all mailability requirements have been met.
While handling parcels, if Postal employees encounter a fuel odor, find liquid stains, or hear liquid sounds, they will move the parcel to the HAZMAT storage area or notify their supervisor.

Items containing mercury or explosives

Can I mail explosives?

No, you can't mail explosives. All explosives, including fireworks, live ammunition, or gun powder, are completely prohibited in the mail stream.

The following videos are available on explosives in the mail on the USPS TV YouTube channel:

Can I mail items containing mercury?

No, you can’t mail metallic mercury. Metallic mercury, which is a liquid at room temperature, and devices containing metallic mercury are always prohibited in the mail stream. This includes antique items such as mercury thermometers, mercury barometers, mercury blood pressure monitors and similar devices.

Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), which contain small amounts of mercury in vapor form, are mailable domestically, but not internationally. The mercury contained in CFLs and other devices like fluorescent tubes and similar consumer devices generally exists in a vaporized state and will never be visible to the naked eye.

If a person knowingly mails items or materials that are dangerous or injurious to life, health, or property, which includes metallic mercury, they may face a CIVIL PENALTY of at least $250, but not more than $100,000 per violation; the costs of any cleanup associated with each violation, and damages. They may also face criminal penalties.

Mercury is capable of causing harmful effects on the nervous, digestive, and immune systems, lungs, and kidneys when exposed to it. Mercury can be adsorbed into the skin or inhaled through the vapor it emits. Therefore, these kinds of spills represent a tremendous safety risk to our employees and customers. If a mercury spill occurred on an aircraft in flight, the effects of such a spill could be catastrophic. It is for these reasons that elemental mercury is prohibited from the mail (Publication 52, Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail (Pub 52) Section 348.21 and Appendix A).

See the 1-minute video on mailing mercury on the USPS TV YouTube channel.

Common Items Containing Mercury

Liquid mercury:
Often encountered in a wide range of volumes. Reasons for sending include uses for gold reclamation/refinement, preparation of dental amalgams, and element collections.