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From: Sil Horwitz <silh@iag.net>
Date: Sat, 29 Jun 1996 22:21:18 -0400
Subject: Re: RETRY: Re: Formaldahyde
At 09:39 AM 960630 +1000, Luis Nadeau wrote:
> And I suppose nobody has managed to explain why a given parcel is less
> dangerous when UPS charges more than 4 times the regular cost to ship > it...
Probably insurance. The HAZMAT people also have very specific rules
about how much packing is required, special precautions in surroundings
during shipment, etc. Lots of paper work.
I was surprised, though, that UPS would even accept collodion - that's
guncotton dissolved in an ether/alcohol solution. A spill of that could
be disastrous to other cargo.
Anyway, this is really off-topic, but I do think they worked out what it
costs them extra to handle what the agencies consider hazardous
materials, and charge accordingly. Normally, there's competition, but I
don't think any other small pkg shipper except UPS would even handle the
stuff. So they can charge whatever they determine the market will bear
(plus expenses, of course).
Sil Horwitz, FPSA
Technical Editor, PSA Journal
silh@iag.net