General Principles
Classifying Dangerous Goods
- Dangerous goods are defined as those goods which meet the criteria of one or more of nine UN hazard classes and,where applicable, to one of three UN Packing Groups according to the provisions of this section. The nine classes relate to the type of hazard whereas the packing groups relate to the applicable degree of danger within the class.
- Wastes should be transported under the requirements of the appropriate class considering their hazards and the criteria of the Regulations. Wastes not otherwise subject to these Regulations, but covered under the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (1989), may be transported under Class 9.
- Many of the substances listed in Classes 1 to 9 are deemed, without additional labelling, as being environmentallyhazardous.
Hazard Classes
Some hazard classes are further subdivided into hazard divisions due to the wide scope of the class. The nine hazard classes and
their divisions are listed below. The order in which they are numbered is for convenience and does not imply a relative degree of danger.
Class 1—Explosives
- Division 1.1—Articles and substances having a mass explosion hazard.
- Division 1.2—Articles and substances having a projection hazard but not a mass explosion hazard.
- Division 1.3—Articles and substances having a fire hazard, a minor blast hazard and/or a minor projection hazard but not a mass explosion hazard.
- Division 1.4—Articles and substances presenting no significant hazard.
- Division 1.5—Very insensitive substances having a mass explosion hazard.
- Division 1.6—Extremely insensitive articles which do not have a mass explosion hazard.
Class 2—Gases
- Division 2.1—Flammable gas.
- Division 2.2—Non-flammable, non-toxic gas.
- Division 2.3—Toxic gas.
Class 3—Flammable Liquids
This class has no sub-divisions.
Class 4—Flammable Solids; Substances Liable to Spontaneous Combustion;Substances Which, in Contact with Water, Emit Flammable Gases
- Division 4.1—Flammable solid.
- Division 4.2—Substances liable to spontaneous combustion.
- Division 4.3—Substances which, in contact with water, emit flammable gases.
Class 5—Oxidizing Substances and Organic Peroxides
- Division 5.1—Oxidizer.
- Division 5.2—Organic peroxides.
Class 6—Toxic and Infectious Substances
- Division 6.1—Toxic substances.
- Division 6.2—Infectious substances.
Class 7—Radioactive Material
This class has no sub-divisions.
Class 8—Corrosives
This class has no sub-divisions.
Class 9— Miscellaneous Dangerous Goods
This class has no sub-divisions.
Packing Groups
Dangerous goods are assigned to the relevant packing group according to the degree of hazard they present:
- Packing Group I—high danger
- Packing Group II—medium danger
- Packing Group III—low danger.
Criteria for Packing Groups I, II and III have been developed for dangerous goods in Classes 3, 4, Division 5.1, Division 6.1 and Class 8 and are given in Subsections 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6 and 3.8. Some substances in Class 9, liquids in Division 5.1 and waste material in Division 6.2 ( UN 3291) have been assigned to packing groups by experience rather than through the application of any technical criteria and these are shown in the List of Dangerous Goods in Subsection Unless otherwise provided for, the UN specification packagings detailed in the packing instructions must meet the performance test requirements of the relevant packing group shown in Column F of the List of Dangerous Goods for the particular article or substance.
Multiple Hazards
Subsection 3.10 describes the procedure for determining which hazard takes precedence for an article or substance with more than one hazard. However, the most stringent packing group based on the different hazards must then be the packing group for the article or substance.
Shipper’s Responsibility
The shipper is responsible for identifying and classifying all dangerous goods intended for transport by air in compliance with these
Regulations. Specifically, before packing any dangerous goods for transport by air, the shipper must:
(a) identify, correctly and fully, all articles and substances that meet the criteria as dangerous goods within the consignment;
(b) classify each item of dangerous goods by determining under which of the nine classes it falls and, where relevant,
determining any subsidiary hazards;
(c) where relevant, assign each item of dangerous goods to one of the three packing groups within the assigned class or division.
Definition
Class 1 comprises:
(a) explosive substances (a substance which is not itself an explosive but which can form an explosive atmosphere of gas,vapour or dust is not included in Class 1), except those that are too dangerous to transport or those where the predominant hazard is appropriate to another class;
(b) explosive articles, except devices containing explosive substances in such quantity or of such a character that their inadvertent or accidental ignition or initiation, during transport, will not cause any effect external to the device either by projection, fire, smoke, heat or loud noise; and
(c) articles and substances not mentioned under (a) and (b) above which are manufactured with a view to producing a practical, explosive or pyrotechnic effect.
Notes
- Class 1 is a restricted class, that is, only those explosive articles and substances that are listed in Subsection 4.2 – List of Dangerous Goods may be accepted for transport. However, the appropriate authorities of the States concerned retain the right by mutual agreement to approve transport of explosive articles and substances for special purposes under special conditions. Therefore, entries have been included in Subsection 4.2 – List of Dangerous Goods for “Articles, explosive,n.o.s.” and “Substances, explosive, n.o.s.”. It is intended that these entries be used only when no other method of operation is possible.
- Most of the explosives listed in Subsection 4.2 – List of Dangerous Goods are not normally permitted for transport by air.Information concerning them is included in this list, however transportation must be approved by the appropriate authorities of the States concerned under the provisions of 2.6.1.
- General entries, such as “Explosive, blasting, Type A” are used to allow for the transport of new substances. In preparing these requirements, military ammunition and explosives have been taken into consideration to the extent that they are likely to be transported by civil aircraft.
- A number of articles and substances, which are in Class 1, are described in Appendix A of these Regulations. These descriptions are given because a term may not be well known or may be at variance with its usage for regulatory purposes. Other definitions for terms used in this Subsection are also provided in Appendix A.
- Class 1 is unique in that the type of packaging frequently has a decisive effect on the hazard and therefore on the assignment to a particular division. The correct division is determined by use of the procedures provided in this Subsection.
Description
Explosive articles and substances are assigned to one of six divisions and to one of thirteen compatibility groups. Not all compatibility groups are to be found in all divisions.
Note:
Most explosives, such as those classed within Divisions 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 (with a few exceptions), 1.4F, 1.5 and 1.6, are normally forbidden for carriage by air.
Divisions
Class 1 is divided into six divisions.
Division 1.1
Articles and substances having a mass explosion hazard (a mass explosion is one which affects almost the entire load virtually instantaneously).
Division 1.2
Articles and substances having a projection hazard but not a mass explosion hazard.
Division 1.3
Articles and substances having a fire hazard and either a minor blast hazard or a minor projection hazard or both, but not a mass explosion hazard. This division comprises articles and substances that:
(a) give rise to considerable radiant heat; or
(b) burn one after another, producing minor blast and/or projection effects.
Division 1.4
Articles and substances that present no significant hazard. This division comprises articles and substances which present only a small hazard in the event of ignition or initiation during transport. The effects are largely confined to the package and no projection of fragments of appreciable size or range is to be expected. An external fire must not cause virtually instantaneous explosion of almost the entire contents of the package.
Note:
Articles and substances in this division are placed in Compatibility Group S when they are so packaged or designed that any hazardous effects arising from accidental functioning are confined within the package unless the package has been degraded by fire, in which case all blast or projection effects are limited to the extent that they do not significantly hinder fire-fighting or other emergency response efforts in the immediate vicinity of the package.
Division 1.5
Very insensitive substances, having a mass explosion hazard, which are so insensitive that there is very little probability of initiation or of transition from burning to detonation under normal conditions of transport.
Note:
Division 1.6
Extremely insensitive articles which do not have a mass explosion hazard. This division comprises articles which contain only extremely insensitive detonating substances and which demonstrate a negligible probability of accidental initiation or propagation.
Note:
The risk from articles of Division 1.6 is limited to the explosion of a single article.
Compatibility Groups
Goods of Class 1 are assigned to one of six divisions, depending on the type of hazard they present (see 3.1.3) and to one of thirteen compatibility groups which identify the kinds of explosive articles and substances that are deemed to be compatible. The definitions of compatibility groups in Table 3.1.A are intended to be mutually exclusive, except for an article or substance which qualifies for Compatibility Group S. Since the criterion of Compatibility Group S is an empirical one, assignment to this group is necessarily linked to the tests for assignment to Division 1.4.
*DGR Manual
Salam Sehat Semangat Sukses
Bambang Purnomo , SS-BA, CSCA, CAVM Solution Consultant
