| The shipping of dangerous goods materials doesn’t have to be a risky business. Jay Johnson at Inmark looks at the vital importance of packaging regulations and the complexity of recent label changes
Social introductions in today’s society often start with the question, “what do you do for a living?” I used to tell everybody that I was a cranberry farmer, but I now reply with the honest answer that I teach people how to ship hazardous materials. The assumption that this must be a dangerous occupation fails to take account of the fact that safety is the top priority. It is only dangerous when the regulations are not properly followed.
When most people think of hazardous materials they think of warehouses full of oozing green drums of chemicals that eat flesh or create super heroes in the movies. Yet every home could be considered a warehouse for hazardous materials. Cleansers, oils, paints, batteries, medicines, pesticides and common household items hold the distinction of being regulated for transport as ‘dangerous goods’. It has been estimated that the average household contains from three to 10 gallons of materials classified as dangerous.
PROPER PACKAGING
Dangerous goods are articles or substances capable of posing a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. The dangerous goods regulations provide a model-specific mechanism for transport of these articles and substances, but it is proper packaging that makes the safe transport of dangerous goods possible. No amount of correct documentation, marking or labelling will make an improperly packaged or leaking dangerous goods shipment safe. Most dangerous goods incidents are the result of packaging failure, and those failures usually come either from a lack of, or the incorrect usage of, specification packaging. |
