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Mailing dry ice without following proper procedures as you describe can result in you being fined or arrested by the postal service, especially if your unlabele

Mailing dry ice without following proper procedures as you describe can result in you being fined or arrested by the postal service, especially if your unlabeled dry ice injures a postal worker. Please don't put human beings at risk for the sake of laziness in mailing. There are good reasons for the rules, even if they're frustrating.

throwaway0a5e 5y ago
I knew there would be a comment like this. Excuse my while my eyes roll several loops in my skull. Yes, mailing stuff that requires labeling without those labels can get you in deep shit (because the feds don't really do shallow shit). That doesn't mean everyone doesn't do it left and right. Go buy some refrigerated food or medication off eBay and see how it ships. Heck, a certain country will ship you all manner of truly dangerous things in nothing more than a bubble wrap envelope. The amount of dry ice required to refrigerate a bat (or tub of caviar, or niche cheese, or whatever) is easy to package safely. Throw it in a rag in a strofoam temp cooler. Do a non-terrible job boxing it up and it won't get out in any form other than as a gas. This is one of the many cases where the behavior of the average individual is not in accordance with the law and (as 20+yr of eCommerce have shown us) nothing bad happens except in cases of exceptional stupidity. I know that "but the law" and assumptions of stupidity of the general public make for easy points around here but neither complaint is materially relevant in this situation.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- floatingatoll 5y ago
  Yes, people knowingly set aside safety guidelines for their personal convenience all the time. Many NTSB investigations end up saying “pilot apparently skipped pre-flight checklist”. As with all such things, it’s fine until it’s not, and when something does eventually go wrong (and it will), the blame will rest on your shoulders for taking safety shortcuts. So I choose not to gamble the safety of others to avoid having to label a package as Dry Ice, even if others take the gamble instead.
- throwaway09223 5y ago
  "Do a non-terrible job boxing it up and it won't get out in any form other than as a gas." It sounds like you're assuming dry ice is only dangerous in terms of cold burns. The gas, carbon dioxide, is dangerous as well. People have died transporting dry ice in a vehicle. CO2 isn't the most dangerous gas, but in an enclosed space like a delivery vehicle it can cause problems. A delivery service needs to consider the cumulative effects of all packages. Your dry ice package may not be the only one in a vehicle. Individuals without experience are generally not capable of doing a thorough risk assessment, which is why regulations are so important.
  - dylan604 5y ago
    Not disputing the dangers of CO2 in an enclosed space, but I'm going through my memory* of USPS/UPS delivery trucks, and not one of them have been enclosed. Sliding doors are always open. Semi-trucks are enclosed, yes, but humans are not in the enclosed areas. *ymmv on your area
    - floatingatoll 5y ago
      There’s also air, sea, and rail transport to consider.
      - dylan604 5y ago
        Again though, how many people are hanging out with the cargo in air/sea/rail transport?
        ytpete 5y ago
        Does someone crawl into the cargo compartment to unload it the moment its door is opened? If that person got caught in a CO2 pool they could plausibly fall unconscious & at least start suffocating before coworkers noticed they were absent for too long.
        nradov 5y ago
        Domestic air cargo flights typically have 2-3 crew members on board. They're inside the same pressure hull as the cargo; there's no barrier or filter. That's why dry ice must be declared and requires special handing for air transport. https://www.freightwaves.com/news/faa-issues-dry-ice-alert-to-airlines-carrying-vaccine https://www.freightwaves.com/news/faa-issues-dry-ice-alert-t...

throwaway0a5e 5y ago

I knew there would be a comment like this. Excuse my while my eyes roll several loops in my skull. Yes, mailing stuff that requires labeling without those labels can get you in deep shit (because the feds don't really do shallow shit). That doesn't mean everyone doesn't do it left and right. Go buy some refrigerated food or medication off eBay and see how it ships. Heck, a certain country will ship you all manner of truly dangerous things in nothing more than a bubble wrap envelope. The amount of dry ice required to refrigerate a bat (or tub of caviar, or niche cheese, or whatever) is easy to package safely. Throw it in a rag in a strofoam temp cooler. Do a non-terrible job boxing it up and it won't get out in any form other than as a gas. This is one of the many cases where the behavior of the average individual is not in accordance with the law and (as 20+yr of eCommerce have shown us) nothing bad happens except in cases of exceptional stupidity. I know that "but the law" and assumptions of stupidity of the general public make for easy points around here but neither complaint is materially relevant in this situation.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
floatingatoll 5y ago
Yes, people knowingly set aside safety guidelines for their personal convenience all the time. Many NTSB investigations end up saying “pilot apparently skipped pre-flight checklist”. As with all such things, it’s fine until it’s not, and when something does eventually go wrong (and it will), the blame will rest on your shoulders for taking safety shortcuts. So I choose not to gamble the safety of others to avoid having to label a package as Dry Ice, even if others take the gamble instead.
throwaway09223 5y ago
"Do a non-terrible job boxing it up and it won't get out in any form other than as a gas." It sounds like you're assuming dry ice is only dangerous in terms of cold burns. The gas, carbon dioxide, is dangerous as well. People have died transporting dry ice in a vehicle. CO2 isn't the most dangerous gas, but in an enclosed space like a delivery vehicle it can cause problems. A delivery service needs to consider the cumulative effects of all packages. Your dry ice package may not be the only one in a vehicle. Individuals without experience are generally not capable of doing a thorough risk assessment, which is why regulations are so important.
- dylan604 5y ago
  Not disputing the dangers of CO2 in an enclosed space, but I'm going through my memory* of USPS/UPS delivery trucks, and not one of them have been enclosed. Sliding doors are always open. Semi-trucks are enclosed, yes, but humans are not in the enclosed areas. *ymmv on your area
  - floatingatoll 5y ago
    There’s also air, sea, and rail transport to consider.
    - dylan604 5y ago
      Again though, how many people are hanging out with the cargo in air/sea/rail transport?
      - ytpete 5y ago
        Does someone crawl into the cargo compartment to unload it the moment its door is opened? If that person got caught in a CO2 pool they could plausibly fall unconscious & at least start suffocating before coworkers noticed they were absent for too long.
      - nradov 5y ago
        Domestic air cargo flights typically have 2-3 crew members on board. They're inside the same pressure hull as the cargo; there's no barrier or filter. That's why dry ice must be declared and requires special handing for air transport. https://www.freightwaves.com/news/faa-issues-dry-ice-alert-to-airlines-carrying-vaccine https://www.freightwaves.com/news/faa-issues-dry-ice-alert-t...