B777-200 flight crew reported HAZMAT onboard was wrapped in opaque plastic sheeting that may have obscured legibility of the labels.
Synopsis
B777-200 flight crew reported HAZMAT onboard was wrapped in opaque plastic sheeting that may have obscured legibility of the labels.
Narrative
I was notified by Captain that a possible Dangerous Goods (DG) issue had occurred on my flight from ZZZZ - ZZZZ1. He had boarded the aircraft I had just brought in from ZZZZ and noticed opaque plastic wrap had been used to cover the DG pallets. He assumed this was his outbound freight and contacted the Duty Officer immediately as he had experienced problems with this before in ZZZZ1.I did not see the pallet personally; but my First Officer said he had inspected the pallets in ZZZZ stating he could read the labels through the opaque plastic when the DG staff pushed the plastic to the package. He said the pallet passed his inspection but added he could understand how it could it could be perceived as not standard as the opaque plastic makes it harder to complete the DG inspection.FOM inspection item says; If loaded onto a pallet can you read the labels through the plastic sheeting? (YES)." This statement is vague and could benefit from a minor clarification stating that all objects covered by plastic must be completely visible and identifiable.It appears we have two issues. A lack of proper materials used for the palletization of DG pallets at one of our sites - I have no information as to where these two pallets originated; [and] a lack of clarity in the FOM. This leads to misapplication of the guidelines on the line.This is the first instance I've run into this or heard about this issue. It should be an easy fix though. Locate the pallets origin and supply them with the proper clear plastic we want them to use when building pallets. Secondly; send notice to alert the crew force to be aware of this issue and follow up with a change to the FOM verbiage for clarification."
Second reporter narrative
After arrival in ZZZZ1 it was brought to my attention that the HAZMAT pallet I inspected in ZZZZ was out of FOM perimeters because of the opaque plastic used to cover the pallets. I didn't think anything of the visibility of that HAZMAT at the time; because when the Dangerous Goods (DG) staff briefing me on our HAZMAT for the evening pressed down on the plastic I could read the labels of each item he showed. Cause: Lack of familiarity with DG wrapping parameters. I will be aware going forward for the necessity of clear plastic covering my HAZMAT pallets.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.