SECTION 2 - "Dangerous Goods"

"dangerous goods" means a product, substance or organism included by its nature or by the regulations in any of the classes listed in the schedule;

BEHIND THE WORDS

The TDG Regulations provide a series of criteria and tests against which products to be shipped can be assessed to determine whether or not they are dangerous goods according to the Regulations. Dangerous goods are those products, substances or organisms which by their nature satisfy one or more of the test conditions or are specifically designated as a dangerous good by the Regulations notwithstanding any tests.

Some extra comments should be added with respect to waste dangerous goods. The TDG Regulations deal with three types of waste as dangerous goods. The first is those dangerous goods that have "served their purpose" and are now a waste, but retain sufficient danger that they are dangerous goods. These are referred to as waste dangerous goods and, in general, their shipping name is as it was before, with the word "waste" placed in front. Thus "nitric acid" becomes "waste nitric acid".

The second category of wastes that are treated as dangerous goods are those waste "streams" which can reasonably be expected to be dangerous, although the danger may vary from day to day. For example, biomedical waste from a hospital operating room may be infectious on some days and not on others. Indeed, on some days it may be difficult to know. Thus, some goods are identified as waste dangerous goods because of their origin. Examples are: Waste Type 7 (waste water treatment sludges from the chemical conversion coating of aluminum);and Waste Type 97 (decanter tank tar sludge from coking operations).

The third category of regulated wastes is referred to in the regulations as "dangerous waste" and is composed of those wastes whose test values (using lechate toxic tests) exceed established safe limits. These wastes are identified during transport as they do require special care if released in an accident due to their potential for detrimental impact on the environment.

There are other wastes regulated by Environment Canada, and further wastes regulated by some Provincial Ministries of Environment. With respect to acute hazards in a transportation accident, in Ontario, the general hierarchy of acute danger is: dangerous goods, waste dangerous goods, waste streams designated as dangerous goods, waste identified as dangerous as a result of a lechate toxic test, other Environment Canada designated waste, and still other Provincial Ministry of the Environment designated waste.

COURT DECISIONS OF INTEREST

"Please refer to the disclaimer on page 0-1"

Previous Page      Table of Contents      Next Page