UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods First of all, a brief introduction to the concept of "Dangerous Goods" will help us in better understanding the Regulations treated in this section: Dangerous Goods (also called "hazardous materials" or "HAZMAT" in the United States) may be pure chemicals, mixtures of substances, manufactured products or articles which can pose a risk to people, animals or the environment if not properly handled in use or in transport. The UN Model Regulations use a classification system in which each dangerous substance or article is assigned to a Class, depending on the nature of the danger it presents. There are 9 Classes, some of which are sub-divided: Class 1 - Explosives
Class 2 - Gases Division 2.1 Flammable gas Division 2.2 Non-Flammable gas Division 2.3 Toxic gas Class 3 - Flammable liquids Class 4 - Flammable solids Division 4.1 Flammable solid Division 4.2 Spontaneously combustible Division 4.3 Dangerous when wet
Class 5 Oxidizing Substances Division 5.1 Oxidizer Division 5.2 Organic peroxide Class 6 Toxic and Infectious Substances Division 6.1 Toxic Division 6.2 Infectious substance Class 7 - Radioactive material
Class 8 - Corrosives Class 9 And Miscellaneous Dangerous Goods Class 9 includes items such as automotive airbags, lithium batteries and environmentally hazardous substances which don't fit into any of the other 8 classes. The Class defines the type of danger which a substance presents, whereas a second classification, called the Packing Group (PG) defines just how dangerous it is. There are three Packing Groups; PG I is the most dangerous, PG II represents a moderate danger and PG III is the least dangerous. Packing Groups are always written in Roman numerals to differentiate them from the Class numbers.
The UN Subcommittee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (SCoETDG) developed recommended procedures for the transport of all types of Dangerous Goods except radioactive materials, applicable to all transport modes. These procedures are published in the UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods. The UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods are addressed to governments and international organisations which are responsible for ensuring the safe transport of Dangerous Goods. They are contained in two important documents: - the UN Model Regulations (allow uniform development of national and international Regulations governing the various modes of transport; yet remaining flexible enough to accommodate any special requirements that might have to be met) - the Manual of Tests and Criteria (providing criteria, test methods and procedures to be used for a correct classification of the Dangerous Goods) Though these Recommendations are not legally mandatory on individual countries, they have gained a wide degree of international acceptance, becoming thus the basis of several international agreements and many national laws. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has used these Recommendations as the basis for developing the Regulations for the safe transport of Dangerous Goods by air by any aircraft (including both internal and external carriage). The UN Recommendations do not cover the manufacture, use or disposal of Dangerous Goods.
IAEA The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) developed recommended procedures for the safe transport of radioactive materials. These procedures are published in the Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material (IAEA SSR-6). These requirements are specifically indicated in Section 10 of IATA DGR Manual with regard to air transport. As far as the other transport modes Regulations are concerned, they are included in the general Manuals.