Dangerous goods

Dangerous goods (DG) are substances that are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment during transport.

Hazmat teams are personnel specially trained to handle dangerous goods, which include materials that are radioactive, flammable, explosive, corrosive, oxidizing, asphyxiating, biohazardous, toxic, poisonous, pathogenic, or allergenic.

Individual airline and governmental requirements are incorporated with this by the International Air Transport Association to produce the widely used IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR).

IMO member countries have also developed the HNS Convention to provide compensation in case of dangerous goods spills in the sea.

Many individual nations have also structured their dangerous goods transportation regulations to harmonize with the UN model in organization as well as in specific requirements.

Dangerous goods are assigned to UN numbers and proper shipping names according to their hazard classification and their composition.

[3] Examples for UN numbers and proper shipping names are: Dangerous goods are divided into nine classes (in addition to several subcategories) on the basis of the specific chemical characteristics producing the risk.

For example, the Canadian Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations provides a description of compatibility groups.

Mitigating the risks associated with hazardous materials may require the application of safety precautions during their transport, use, storage and disposal.

[6] People who handle dangerous goods will often wear protective equipment, and metropolitan fire departments often have a response team specifically trained to deal with accidents and spills.

Packing groups are used for the purpose of determining the degree of protective packaging required for dangerous goods during transportation.

One of the transport regulations is that, as an assistance during emergency situations, written instructions how to deal in such need to be carried and easily accessible in the driver's cabin.

Australia uses the standard international UN numbers with a few slightly different signs on the back, front and sides of vehicles carrying hazardous substances.

The United Kingdom (and also Australia, Malaysia, and New Zealand) use the Hazchem warning plate system which carries information on how an emergency service should deal with an incident.

Drivers carrying quantities of goods under the rule's guidelines and for recreational or domestic purposes do not need any special endorsements.

In 1984 the agencies OSHA, EPA, USCG, and NIOSH jointly published the first Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Guidance Manual[20] which is available for download.

[24] Different standards usually apply for handling and marking hazmats at fixed facilities, including NFPA 704 diamond markings (a consensus standard often adopted by local governmental jurisdictions), OSHA regulations requiring chemical safety information for employees, and CPSC requirements requiring informative labeling for the public, as well as wearing hazmat suits when handling hazardous materials.