UTMB Biological Materials Shipping Guide

UTMB employees, who wish to ship research materials, to a foreign destination should first contact UTMB's Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) to determine if (i) a Material Transfer Agreement is needed between UTMB and the receiving entity and (ii) an U.S. export control license is required prior to shipment. After the UTMB employee receives approval from OTT, they must submit a request (see the Section “Request for EHS or DOB to Ship Your Materials” on this webpage) for shipping to EHS or DOB, along with all necessary documentation, such as MTA, U.S. export control license, foreign recipient’s import permit if needed. An EHS or DOB Shipper will contact you to schedule the shipment after they receive your shipping request.

All research shipments of radioactive material must be performed by Radiation Safety. Contact EHS-Radiation Safety at (409) 772-2279 to schedule shipping of radioactive material.

All research shipments of chemicals must be evaluated by EHS-Radiation and Occupational Safety to determine if they are exempt or regulated as a DOT hazardous material shipment. Shipments that are determined to be a DOT hazardous material must be performed by a trained & certified EHS or UTMB shipper. Contact EHS-Occupational Safety at (409) 747-0515 to evaluate the chemical shipment.

For the purposes of shipping, biological materials may be classified as infectious substances, exempt human/animal patient specimens, biological products, or genetically modified organisms.

Non-Regulated Materials 

• Material that does not contain infectious substances
• Microorganisms which are non-pathogenic to humans and/or animals
• Environmental sample that is not considered to pose a significant health risk
• Dried blood spot/fecal occult blood test
• Pathogens that have been neutralized/inactivated

Exempt Animal or Human Specimens

•  Patient specimens for which there is minimal likelihood that pathogens are present

Infectious to Humans or Animals

• Substances which are known or are reasonably expected to contain pathogens

Genetically Modified Organisms (and micro-organisms)

• Organisms in which genetic material has been purposely altered through genetic engineering in a way that does not occur naturally .

Do I Need a Permit?

Biological materials may also require permits in addition to the IATA and DOT regulations for shipping and receiving. Biological materials permits are intended to ensure that these materials that may bear an infectious disease or environmental impact risk are not inadvertently released. Additionally, permits minimize the potential for clandestine or inappropriate use of such materials.

Materials Transfer Intake Form

A Guide to Biological Materials Permits

Biological Materials IATA Category Classification Flow Chart

UTMB Biological Materials Shipping Guide

• Infectious Substance Category A
• Biological Substance Category B
• Dry Ice or Carbon Dioxide, Solid Shipments
• Exempt Substances-Non-Hazardous Materials
• General Packing Instructions
• Genetically Modified Organisms and Microorganisms
  

Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs)

Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs) are required when any research materials are exchanged between UTMB and another entity. MTAs control the terms and conditions under which the recipient scientist and institution may use the exchanged materials for research. https://www.utmb.edu/techtransfer/TechnologyTransfer

Export Control and Export Licenses

An export license will be required to ship or transport certain research materials and equipment out of the United States of America. Contact UTMB Export Control for more information. https://www.utmb.edu/export

eShipGlobal

eShipGlobal is available as a UTMB resource to ship materials at a reduced cost. When eShipGlobal is used to prepare documentation for a shipment of research materials you must select the “Research Materials Shipping” option to comply with DOT/IATA regulations. For more information regarding eShipGlobal visit https://www.utmb.edu/supplychain/divisions/procurement/procurement-marketplace

To begin the process of shipping hazardous materials visit, https://utmb.us/6g5, complete and submit the “UTMB Hazardous Materials Shipping Request” form. Do not consider the form received until you have received confirmation from one of our staff. EHS or DOB will contact you to set up a time to pack and pick up your shipment.

New Dry Ice Pick-up Service!

As part of our ongoing commitment to support research collaborations, we are introducing a brand-new Dry Ice Pick-up Service for your research material shipments.

How It Works:

You can enjoy the convenience of requesting dry ice pickups when you submit a research material shipping request. Simply submit a shipping request via the following link (https://utmb.us/6g5) and select the option for “Dry Ice Pick-up” or give us a call at (409) 772-1871, and our dedicated team will coordinate the pickup at a time that suits your shipping schedule. *Please note that an FRS will need to be provided for billing purposes*

Benefits of Our Dry Ice Pick-up Service:

• Streamlined process for your research material shipments.
• Reduces missed shipments due to not receiving dry ice orders on time.
• Ensures the integrity of your valuable materials with proper dry ice handling.

We Value Your Feedback: Your satisfaction is our priority. As we launch this service, we would love to hear your thoughts and feedback. Please feel free to reach out to us at https://forms.office.com/r/0MaDHp7mZY with any questions or suggestions.

For more information or questions please contact DOB at (409) 772-1781 or email us at ehsship@UTMB.EDU.

Do you need training to ship? Here are the options that are available to you:

Dry Ice and Exempt Shipping of Biological Materials

This online course provides personnel with the knowledge and certification to be a shipper* of dry ice, exempt human and animal specimens (with or without preservatives), and exempt biological products. As most shipments of dry ice/biological products are shipped by air, the more restrictive air transport regulations will be the focus of the course. The course will use, as its core reference, the current edition of the International Air Transport Association Dangerous Goods Regulations (IATA DGR). As specified in 49 CFR 172.704, this course includes the following:

• General awareness/familiarization training - provides familiarity with the shipping requirements, and enables the employee to recognize and identify hazardous materials.
• Function Specific Training - covers requirements for specific tasks (marking, labeling, etc.).
• Safety Training - emergency response information and safe handling procedures.
• Security Awareness Training - provides an awareness of security risks associated with hazardous materials transportation and methods designed to enhance transportation security.
  

* A shipper is a person who loads, unloads, handles, prepares (identifies, classifies hazardous materials, packages, marks, labels, or documents) hazardous materials packages, including the preparation of shipping papers, tenders hazardous materials into commerce, or who otherwise transports hazardous materials shipments.

Use this link to navigate directly to the Dry Ice and Exempt Bioshipping training course.

DOT/IATA Category A and Category B Shipping

This training course covers the following competency units in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Air Transport (IATA) training requirements:

• General familiarization, safety, and security
• Overview of dangerous goods shipping
• Classification of infectious substances
• Exempt patient specimens
• Category B infectious substances
• Category A infectious substances
• Genetically modified organisms
• Dry ice infectious substances
• Preservatives with infectious substances
• Liquid nitrogen
• Overpacks

To register for the DOT/IATA shipping course, please email ehsship@UTMB.EDU.

* Recurrent training is required on a biennial basis for either training option *