Carriage, Handling and Storage of Dangerous Goods along

92 RECOMMENDATIONS
not carry the required documentation for the cross-border and international transport of dangerous
goods. Transport of these dangerous goods requires specific packaging, labelling, marking, segregation
and a complete set of documents to ensure the safe transport and handling of the dangerous goods
and a dangerous goods stowage plan, showing the exact location of the dangerous goods onboard.
Packaging Selection – Key Points
For packaged dangerous goods, appropriate packaging is vital in safely transporting dangerous
goods and is regulated by a number of UN regulations and IMDG rules. All UN recommendations
are based on the philosophy that securely contained dangerous goods pose little, or acceptable risk,
during transport. Based on experience, the UN developed the minimum performance requirements
for packaging. During the last decade, the UN has been developing packing instructions which provide
detailed specifications for packing specific dangerous goods.
The following key points should be considered when selecting packaging:
1. Does it comply with the relevant code’s specific requirements?;
2. Is the substance compatible with the packaging? It is the packer’s and shipper’s
responsibility to ensure the substance is compatible with the proposed packaging. It is
important the substance does not react dangerously, weaken or cause the packaging to
become brittle; and
3. Has the packaging been tested to the correct test specification?
The UN felt it was necessary to know the degrees of danger, because it could affect the way a
substance is handled, stowed, packaged, and transported. Because of this, the concept of Packing
Groups was developed. There are three levels:
Packing Group I = High Danger;
Packing Group II = Medium Danger; and
Packing Group III = Low Danger.
Packing Groups are always shown – on both packages and documentation – in Roman Numerals
Marking and Labelling
All codes have similar marking and labelling requirements. Labelling specifically refers to Class label(s)
and Subsidiary Risk labels.
Marking refers to the UN number (preceded by the letters UN) and corresponding Proper Shipping
Name. For example: "UN 2902 PESTICIDE, LIQUID, TOXIC, N.O.S. (contains 80 percent drazoxolon)".
Marks
These include special marks such as the orientation, water pollutant, environmentally hazardous and
elevated temperature marks.
Segregation
The physical separation of incompatible goods helps safeguard against accidents by reducing the
probability of an adverse reaction between incompatible dangerous goods if containment is lost. The
UN Recommendations recognise the need to segregate incompatible materials. However, no specific