Shipping & Receiving (Traffic)

Shipping and Receiving (The Traffic Office) covers all incoming or outgoing shipments other than express. The Traffic Office handles international and domestic shipments to any point on the globe. It is important to note, when planning or travelling with, relocating, or shipping "Export Controlled" equipment, advance notification is required to ensure compliance with government regulations. If you have any customs questions, rate request, or any question involving Shipping and Receiving, please contact Tom Burke at ext. 8718 or [email protected].

▶️ Lamont Shipping Request Form

All Federal, State, and Local regulations must be followed when transporting hazardous materials (including chemicals, radioactive material, or any such waste). If you will be mailing (UPS/FED EX) hazardous materials out into the field, the LDEO Shipping department must be contacted to ensure that these items are properly transported.

NOTE: You should not transport hazardous materials in your personal vehicles as there are strict regulations restricting this practice.

In addition, if you will be generating any hazardous waste (chemical or radioactive) off campus, the LDEO Safety office needs to be notified well in advance of your departure so that we can coordinate with you  and Columbia's EHS office to arrange for proper waste disposal. Hazardous waste cannot be shipped back to LDEO.

Note: Disposal cost for hazardous waste generated in the field may be the responsibility of the PI and would need to be included in your budget.

Vendors have sometimes delivered material to LDEO either before or after normal working hours. In some cases, valuable or temperature sensitive materials have been left unattended on the loading dock. The potential problems (horrors) are obvious.

The Purchasing Office is advising our vendors that the Traffic Office is only open 9am-5pm. The security service has been told not to receive any material after hours except when they have been notified to expect a delivery. There are legitimate times when something must be received in the evening or on weekends to enable the staff to continue their efforts. In no way do we wish to disrupt this, but we also do not wish to have material missing or damaged on the loading dock. We ask that you do three things if an after hours delivery is required:

  • Notify the Security office via e-mail at [email protected] during business hours that something will be arriving for you with shipper and source if possible..
  • Remember that the guard house is small and any large items may have to sit out in the weather.
  • You should call the guard house (845-365-8370) if it is after hours or on a weekend to notify of delivery. However, you must be available to pick up the item within a few hours of delivery. Items cannot be held overnight in the guard house. If you cannot pick up the item within a few hours, you will need to re-schedule delivery.

We appreciate your cooperation.

The removal of waste chemicals from LDEO is a shared responsibility with the Safety Department. Questions regarding the removal of chemicals should be directed to Howie Matza at [email protected]. If he is unavailable, please contact Cathy Troutman at [email protected].

In cases of extreme emergency, such as a major spill, contact the Safety Office by dialing 555.

All removals must be arranged by email to [email protected].

Express Services are designed to ship documents and equipment for overnight or second day delivery. There are also express services for overseas shipments.

For more information, please contact Tom Burke or Pat Ables.

If you sent your package via Federal Express and have your package tracking number, you can track it here.

The mailroom handles interoffice, domestic, and international mail. There is an express mail service for items going to post office boxes. By contacting the mailroom, you can obtain postal rates and regulations for domestic and international mail.

For more information, please contact Pat Ables.

Pick-ups and deliveries to/from the main University campus are by special request and need to be approved on a case-by-case basis by contacting Pat Ables or Tom Burke.

The Traffic Office handles the storage, removal of equipment, and placement of items in the warehouse. A detailed listing must be provided before items can be placed in the warehouse. When possible, advance notice should be given for removal of equipment.

For more information, please contact Tom Burke.