What are the top rules for international dangerous goods transport packaging?
As a manufacturer of steel buckets or, more popularly, metal buckets, we should understand the top rules for international dangerous goods transport packaging - the United Nations "Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods".
I. How did the United Nations "Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods" come about and develop?
The "Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods" was formulated by the United Nations Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods under the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The United Nations Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods was established in 1952. Since then, the committee has conducted in-depth research on various issues related to the international transportation of dangerous goods by various modes of transportation (sea, land, and air), and completed a report on the classification, coding, marking, and transport packaging and documents of dangerous goods in 1956. The 23rd Economic and Social Council meeting held in April 1957 reviewed the research report. It was later revised and supplemented by the United Nations Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (a meeting is held every two years), and was published according to the resolution of the Economic and Social Council, named "Recommendations on the Transpot Of Dangerous Goods". Because the cover of the book is orange, it is also called the "Orange Book". With the continuous development of science and technology and the emergence of new dangerous goods, countries around the world continue to raise new issues and proposals on the classification, packaging and transportation of dangerous goods every year. The expert committee uses the opportunity of annual meetings to discuss the new proposals in depth, and the issues that have reached consensus will be added to the "Orange Book". As of 2021, the rules have been revised twenty-two times, and the 22nd revised version has been published. The current new version is much more complete in content than the previous version.
II. What is the content of the United Nations "Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods"?
The "Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods" was formulated based on the development of science and technology, the emergence of new substances and new materials, and the requirements of the modernization of transportation to protect the safety of life, property and the environment. The purpose of formulating this rule is to propose a set of basic regulations on dangerous goods and their transportation, packaging, etc., so that various international transportation modes and governments can achieve unification within the scope of the "Orange Book" when formulating dangerous goods transportation management regulations. The "Orange Book" is published by the United Nations in six languages, including Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. The book consists of 17 chapters and is printed on 16-page paper. The Chinese version has more than 700 pages and about 1 million words. It is huge and rich in content. From the name, it seems that it only involves the transportation of dangerous goods, but in fact its content goes far beyond the scope of transportation. In addition to making recommendations on various modes of transportation of dangerous goods, it also makes detailed provisions on the signs, signs, consignment procedures and transportation documents of dangerous goods in a large amount of space. The main contents of the Orange Book are briefly described as follows:
1. It stipulates the principle of "formulating dangerous goods transport rules".
The Orange Book is the general rule for international dangerous goods transport packaging. It is the general basis for formulating rules for transporting dangerous goods in various ways. On the one hand, its provisions are applicable to the safety needs of various modes of transport of dangerous goods, but on the other hand, it cannot perfectly meet the needs of various modes of transport of dangerous goods. Therefore, the current practice is that the Orange Book should be used as the general basis, combined with the characteristics of various modes of transport, and the relevant international organizations should formulate management rules for dangerous goods transport packaging suitable for this mode of transport (such as sea, land, and air). Based on this principle, the International Maritime Organization has formulated the "International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code" suitable for the characteristics of maritime transport, the International Civil Aviation Organization has formulated the "Technical Rules for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air" suitable for the characteristics of air transport, and the "International Dangerous Goods Regulations for Rail Transport" (RID) has been formulated based on the Agreement on International Transport by Rail (COTIF) to suit the characteristics of rail transport. The Inland Transport Committee under the Economic Commission for Europe has formulated the "European Agreement on the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road" (ADR) suitable for road transport. This principle of the "Orange Book" is also applicable to the relevant regulations formulated by governments of various countries to suit their own characteristics.
In order to facilitate the relevant international organizations and governments to formulate appropriate dangerous goods transportation packaging management rules, the "Orange Book" stipulates the following principles for "formulating dangerous goods transportation rules".
(1) Personal or property accidents should be prevented as much as possible, the means of transport or other goods used should be prevented from being damaged, and the dangers in transportation should be eliminated or reduced to a minimum, so as to make the transportation of dangerous goods possible.
(2) The regulations should not hinder the transportation of dangerous goods. In other words, the regulations should not blindly require that the standards or difficulty be as high as possible, so that many dangerous goods cannot be transported, which will be counterproductive.
(3) For those goods that are too dangerous, it should be stipulated that they are not allowed to be transported.
In short, when formulating the transportation rules of dangerous goods for various modes of transportation, "safety" and "convenient transportation" should be considered on an equal footing. Both should be taken into account at the same time, and common ground should be found between the two, without inappropriate bias.
2. Scientific classification of more than 3,000 common dangerous goods, and the definition, characteristics, classification standards and methods of various types of dangerous goods are given.
The Orange Book divides dangerous goods into nine categories, namely: Category 1 - explosives; Category 2 - gases; Category 3 - flammable liquids; Category 4 - flammable solids, self-igniting substances and substances that release flammable gases when in contact with water; Category 5 - oxidizing substances and organic peroxides; Category 6 - toxic substances and infectious substances; Category 7 - radioactive substances; Category 8 - corrosive substances; Category 9 - miscellaneous dangerous substances or articles.
3. Detailed rules are made for the types, specifications, materials, production processes, performance, usage methods, packaging categories, packaging markings, packaging performance test methods, etc. of dangerous goods packaging.
(1) According to the different degrees of danger of the dangerous goods contained, dangerous goods packaging containers are divided into three categories: Category I packaging - for highly dangerous goods; Category II packaging for medium-dangerous goods; Category III packaging for less dangerous goods.
(2) The overall requirements of the Orange Book for the quality of dangerous goods packaging are: good quality, firm, sealed, and under normal transportation conditions, no leakage or safety accidents will occur due to vibration or changes in temperature, humidity and pressure.
(3) The Orange Book stipulates that all dangerous goods packaging containers must be tested for performance according to the prescribed standards by the national competent authorities (in my country, the inspection and quarantine department) before they can be used to package dangerous goods. In other words, mandatory inspection is implemented for dangerous goods packaging.
(4) Chapter 9 of the Orange Book stipulates that all dangerous goods packaging containers that have passed the inspection of the national competent authorities should be printed with clear and durable United Nations dangerous goods packaging marks that meet the prescribed requirements to prove the reliability and legality of the packaging containers.
4. Chapter 2 of the Orange Book provides a "List of Commonly Transported Dangerous Goods", which lists the names and characteristics of more than 3,000 commonly transported dangerous goods.
Hazard categories (including major and minor hazards), packaging categories and methods, as well as special provisions. This list is rich in content, clear in format, and easy to find. It provides great convenience for the production, use, inspection, foreign trade and transportation departments related to dangerous goods packaging, such as packaging containers.
5. The Orange Book stipulates the marks, labels and signs for identifying various types of dangerous goods, the format and content of dangerous goods transport documents, the procedures for dangerous goods consignment, and the responsibilities of consignors.
All consignors must fill in the following statement in the "Dangerous Goods Transport Document": "I declare that this consignment has been fully and accurately described in the above (form) according to the formal shipping name, and has been classified, packaged, marked and labeled in accordance with applicable international and national government regulations, and all aspects meet the conditions for transportation by (some mode)".
III. What is the role of the "Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods"?
The "Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods" has a significant role. Although it is called "Recommendation", in fact, due to the scientific and reasonable nature of its provisions, its provisions have been adopted and implemented by the vast majority of relevant international organizations and governments. ICAO stipulates that from January 1, 1989, and IMO stipulates that from January 1, 1991, all packaging containers of dangerous goods used for air and sea transportation must be inspected in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 9 of the Orange Book, and only those that meet the requirements can be used. In other words, ICAO and IMO have turned the "Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods" into a mandatory international law. The Orange Book has a history of more than 60 years since its publication in 1957. Its formulation, development and implementation have played a significant role and far-reaching impact on the safe transportation of dangerous goods by various modes of transportation worldwide.
1. The formulation and implementation of the United Nations "Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods" have made it possible and a reality for countries around the world to implement international unified control on the transportation of exported dangerous goods on international routes (including sea, land and air transport).
2. The formulation and release of the "Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods" provides a reliable basis for relevant international organizations to formulate more practical and specific specialized dangerous goods transportation that are more suitable for the characteristics of various modes of transportation.
3. As governments of various countries have uniformly implemented the provisions of the "Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods", the classification, list, packaging, marking, labeling, signs, transport documents and consignment procedures of dangerous goods in various countries have been standardized and normalized, thus achieving the goal of world unification, and then the consignors, carriers and inspection and supervision authorities in various countries that have direct or indirect relations with the transport of dangerous goods will benefit greatly from the simplification of consignment, loading and unloading, transportation and management procedures, saving a lot of time and costs. With unified rules to follow, work will be more convenient, the obstacles to the international transportation of dangerous goods will be greatly reduced, the safety of transportation will be greatly improved, and the benefits of implementing the "Orange Book" to countries around the world will become increasingly significant. Because of this, the "Orange Book" has been increasingly valued by relevant international organizations and governments, and the awareness of implementing the "Orange Book" has become increasingly high.
20L metal buckets, 5 gallon metal buckets, and 18 litre metal buckets are used to package paint, zinc powder, and other chemical products, many of which are classified as hazardous goods. Therefore, for manufacturers that produce these specifications of steel buckets and metal buckets, understanding the relevant knowledge of dangerous goods transportation can improve our understanding of the quality of metal packaging containers, thereby improving production quality and better serving our customers.
