PHMSA's Risk Assessment for HAZMAT Packages in an Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Environment

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Hazardous Materials Safety (OHMS), seeks a contractor with the expertise, capabilities, and experience to evaluate the safety performance of existing dangerous goods packaging requirements in an unmanned aerial systems (UAS) environment.

The work will account for operational conditions specific to the carriage of dangerous goods via UAS and the corresponding hazards, the safety performance of existing packaging standards, and identify appropriate risk mitigations. It will also identify potential hazards associated with malfunctions of UAS package containment systems at various cruise altitudes, up to 400’ above ground level (AGL), which could inadvertently drop items during transit.

While UAS operations may differ from manned operations in the design and implementation of the safety standards for transporting packages, the intention of adequate safety controls being applied to mitigate risk remains.