DANGEROUS GOODS CLASSIFICATIONS

The Transport Of Dangerous Goods And Marine Pollutants In Sea-Going Ships Is Regulated In The International Convention For The Safety Of The Life At Sea (SOLAS) And The International Convention For The Prevention Of Pollution From Ships (MARPOL). Terms Of Both (SOLAS) And (MARPOL) Have Been Worked Out In Detail And Are Included In The International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Codes.

 

Air Transport Is Regulated By The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) And The International Air Transport Association (IATA) At The Trade Level. Sea Transport Is Regulated By The International Maritime Organization (IMO). These Organizations Publish Codes Of Practice Based On The UN Recommendations Which Outline The Requirements For Safely Transporting Dangerous Goods By Sea And Air.

 

Imco Class   Description

 

 

Class 1

Explosives

Division 1.1

Substances And Articles, Which Have A Mass Explosion Hazard.

Division 1.2

Substances And Articles Which Have A Projection Hazard But Not A Mass Explosion Hazard.

 

Division 1.3

Substances And Articles Which Have A Fire Hazard And Either A Minor Blast Hazard Or A Minor

Projection Hazard Or Both, But Not A Mass Explosion Hazard.

Division 1.4

Substances And Articles, Which Present No Significant Hazard.

Division 1.5

Very Insensitive Substances Which Have Mass Explosion Hazard

Division 1.6

Extremely Insensitive Articles Which Do Not Have A Mass Explosion Hazard

Examples

Ammunition, Fireworks, Blasting Explosives.

 

Class 2

Gases Compressed,  Liquefied Or Dissolved Under Pressure.

Division 2.1

Flammable Gases

Division 2.2

Non-Flammable Gases.

Division 2.3

Toxic Gases

Examples

Division 2.1 Cigarette Lighters, Refills For Gas Lighters, Acetylene, Ethylene, And Hydrogen Some

Industry Use.

Division 2.2 Carbon Dioxide, Oxygen (For Medical And Industrial Use), Compressed Air, Freon Gas Used For Refrigeration And Air Conditioning, Compressed Nitrogen And Argon For Welding. Also, Liquid Oxygen And Liquid Nitrogen For Industrial Use.

Division 2.3 Chlorine (For Water Treatment And Ammonia (For Industrial Works).

Note            Aerosols, As Pesticides, Air Fresheners, Aerosol Deodorants And Some Oven

Cleaners Are Assigned To Division 2.1, 2.2 Or 2.3 Depending On Their Properties.

 

Class 3

Flammable Liquids

Division 3.1

Low Flash-Point Group Of Liquids (Flash-Point Below –18C.)

 

Division 3.2

Intermediate Flash-Point Group Of Liquids

(Flash-Point Of – 18C.Up To But Not Include +23C.)

Division 3.3

High Flash-Point Group Of Liquids (Flash-Point Of +23C. Up To And Include +61C.)

Examples

Petrol, Kerosene, Paints, Car Lacquers,  Chemical Solvents  (Petroleum  Derivatives), Varnishes.

 

Class 4

Flammable Solids Or Substances

Division 4.1

Flammable Solids

Division 4.2

Substances Liable To Spontaneous Combustion

Division 4.3

Substances Which In Contact With Water Emit Flammable Gases.

Examples

Matches and Sulphur  Powder. Division 4.3 Calcium Carbide - Used To Produce Acetylene

Gas.

 

Class 5

Oxidizing Substances (Agents) And Organic Peroxides.

Division 5.1

Oxidizing Substances (Agents) Yielding Oxygen Increases The Risk And Intensity Of Fire.


 

Division 5.2

Organic Peroxides-Most Will Burn Rapidly And Are Sensitive To Impact Or Friction.

Examples

Division 5.1 Pool Chlorine,  Some Fertilizers.

 

Class 6

Toxic And Infectious Substances

Division 6.1

Toxic Substances.

Division 6.2

Infectious Substances.

Examples

Division 6.1       Some Pesticides, Industry Products Such As Cyanide Products. Division 6.2 Waste Medical Products For Example. Class

 

Class 7

Radioactive Substances

Examples

Substances Used In Industrial, Medical Or Scientific Purposes.

 

Class 8

Corrosives

 

Examples

Acids As Glacial Acetic  Acid, Hydrochloric, Sulphuric And Nitric Acid, Caustic Soda And

Caustic Potash

 

Class 9

Miscellaneous DangerouSubstances And Articles.

 

Examples

A Wide Range Of Substances As Asbestos, Some Fertilizers And Environmentally

Hazardous Products.

 

 

MHB

Materials Hazardous Only In Bulk.

 

N.B Packing Group Classes 3, 4, 5.1, 6.1 And 8 Have Been Divided Into Three Packing Groups (PG): I, II Or III. The Packing Group Indicates The Degree Of Risk Within The Classes And Specifies The Standard Of Packaging. Packing Group I Denotes High Risk And Therefore Requires The Highest Standard Of Packaging; II Denotes Medium Risk; And III Denotes Low Risk. The IMDG Code Uses The Term Packaging Group Rather Than Packing G

 

IMCO TERMS

 

Imco Class

Grouping Of Dangerous Goods By Type Of Risk Involved, This Grouping Was Drawn Up By The UN Committee Of

Experts On Transport.

 

Corrosive Material

A Liquid Or Solid That Causes Visible Destruction Or Irreversible Damage To Human Skin Tissue On Contact. Also, It May Be A Liquid That Has A Severe Corrosion Rate On Steel.

 

Flash Point

The Minimum Temperature At Which The Flammable Vapors Of A Substance (In Contact With A Spark Or Flame) Will Ignite.

 

UN Number

United Nations Serial Number, That Is To Say, One Of The Four Digit Numbers Devised By The United Nations And

Specified In The Approved Carriage List As A Means Of Identification For Dangerous Goods.

 

ADR

Means The European Agreement Concerning The International Carriage Of Dangerous Goods By Road Signed At

Geneva On 30th September 1957[4], As Revised Or Re-Issued From Time To Time

 

MFAG

Medical First Aid Guide.

 

MHB

Materials Hazardous Only In Bulk, Where Hazardous Regulations Are Not Applied To These Materials When They

Are Carried In Closed Containers.