Air carrier flight crew reported a late arriving DG notification when no planned DG documents had been previously provided. After further review it was determined that the biological substances DG was exempt from pilot notification and the flight proceeded safely.
Synopsis
Air carrier flight crew reported a late arriving DG notification when no planned DG documents had been previously provided. After further review it was determined that the biological substances DG was exempt from pilot notification and the flight proceeded safely.
Narrative
Just after brake release but before push we received a message from dispatch to not push back pending final weights. Then load planning sent a message that ramp personnel had not secured Dangerous Goods (DG) on the aircraft. We advised dispatch and load planning we were previously notified that we did not have DG onboard; but if that has changed we will need the 'final dangerous goods summary.' I called dispatch on the phone and asked to be connected with load planning. The load planner reiterated that we had DG and that it needed to be properly secured. Since we had DG I explained that we needed our normal DG paperwork. The load planner said that he was unable to send the normal paperwork for DG due to the way the item(s) were entered into the system. I advised him we either need our paperwork or we need to remove the item(s). The station personnel then communicated that the items were biological in nature and did not need the normal DG notification procedures. We verified their description of the items matched the description and categorization of 'Conditionally excepted dangerous goods' as described in FOM biological substances. This categorization does not need Captain notification or a 'final dangerous goods' report generated so we continued the flight without further delay.
Second reporter narrative
After calling for pushback we got an ACARS notification from load planning telling us not to push until the final weights were sent. This was quickly followed by a message stating 'ramp did not secure DG' Having already received a no DG (Dangerous Goods) message during the initialization the captain and I both were unclear what this meant. We began to communicate with both dispatch and load planning to ascertain if there was DG on the aircraft and obtain the required notification form. We were told conflicting information from various departments that we didn't require a final dangerous goods summary; which seemed at odds with the repeated use of the term 'DG' This included being told by load planning that paperwork was filed incorrectly and therefore they had no paperwork to send. Obviously this was disconcerting as we were getting no assurance of what was on the plane and why it might not require a form. Ultimately the ground staff in ZZZ airport told us it was biological substances and we found guidance in the FOM making it clear that it was exempt from pilot notification and we proceeded.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.