The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released the 57th edition of the Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR), which covers changes that will take effect by January 1, 2016.
According to IATA, the newly released edition incorporates all amendments made by the Dangerous Goods Board and includes addenda issued to the 2015-2016 edition of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Technical Instructions.
The IATA DGR manual is the global reference for shipping dangerous goods by air and the only standard recognized by airlines.
On its website (http://ht.ly/Szvdm), IATA uploaded a list to assist users in identifying the main changes introduced in the 57th edition, as well as a video explaining some of the key points in the new edition.
Amendments were made in Sections 1 (Applicability), 2 (Limitations), 5 (Packing), 8 (Documentation), 9 (Handling), and 10 (Radioactive Materials). The new edition includes updated contact details of competent authorities; a list of UN Specification Packaging Suppliers and the Package Testing Facilities; and a revised list of sales agents, IATA-accredited training schools, and IATA authorized training centers.
One of the key changes is a paragraph with recommendations on actions to be taken when packages are found to be damaged or leaking. These recommendations are not for packages of dangerous goods — already addressed in a previous edition of the DGR — but for other cargo where there may be Globally Harmonized System markings evident on packages and for which there may be a risk to persons or the environment.
Moreover, the 57th edition includes classification criteria for polymerizing substances. New UN numbers and proper shipping names have been assigned to polymerizing substances: liquid and solid, stabilized and liquid, and solid requiring temperature control. Those requiring temperature control are forbidden in air transport, IATA said.
The entries for “engines” currently assigned to UN 3166 have been assigned to new UN numbers in Division 2.1, Class 3 or Class 9, depending on the classification of the fuel, or fuel cell. New entries for machinery have been assigned to the same UN numbers as for engines. New packing instruction PI 220, PI 378, and PI 972 were added for these entries.
Moreover, changes include replacement of the existing lithium battery handling label with a multimodal lithium battery mark that replaces the existing wording, showing the type of lithium cells and batteries with the applicable UN number(s). Associated with this is the introduction of a new Class 9 label specifically for lithium batteries. Both of these provisions have a two-year transition period until the end of December 2018.
IATA leads industry efforts to ensure safe handling of dangerous goods in air shipping with a goal to make it just as easy to ship dangerous goods by air as any other product, removing any incentive to by-pass regulations. – Roumina Pablo
Photo from www.iata.org
