Dangerous Goods are articles or substances that are capable of posing a risk to health, safety, property, or the environment when they are transported. There are approximately 3,400 classified dangerous goods which have been divided into 9 different classes.

For dangerous goods to be safe for transport aboard an aircraft they must be properly classified, packaged, marked, labeled and documented. Only trained personnel or someone under the direct supervision of someone who is trained may handle, offer for transport or transport dangerous goods.

Classification:

The United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods - Model Regulations establish the criteria for the 9 different classes of dangerous goods. These criteria are reproduced in the Transport of Dangerous Goods Regulations (TDGR) and the International Civil Aviation Organization Technical Instruction for Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air (ICAO TI's).

Packaging:

See the Dangerous Goods List - Sample of the ICAO TI's for the prescribed Packing Group, Packing Instruction and Maximum Net Quantity per Package for dangerous goods to be transported by air.

Package Marking and Labeling:

Each packaging is marked with an alpha-numeric code that indicates such information as the type of packaging, Packing Group, form of the dangerous goods (liquid or solid) and its relative density, inner packagings, etc. for which the packaging was tested by the manufacturer and can be used.

A package containing dangerous goods must also be marked and labeled to specifically identify the content. The marking and labeling requirements for packages that are to be transported by air are set out in the ICAO TI's.

Although placards are not normally required for air transport, the vehicle transporting the dangerous goods to and from the airport must be placarded in accordance with the TDGR.

Documentation:

Documentation including a description of the dangerous goods and emergency response information must also accompany the shipment. The TDGR requires the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Shipper's Declaration form be used for dangerous goods that are to be transported by air, but it must be filled out in accordance with the ICAO TI's.

The Dangerous Goods List, Table 3-1, of the ICAO TI's is divided into 12 columns:

Column 1: "Name" - Contains the alphabetically arranged list of dangerous goods identified by their proper shipping names in bold face character.

Column 2: "UN No." - Contains the serial number assigned to the article or substance under the United Nations classification system

Column 3: "Class or division" - Contains the class or division, and for Class 1 the compatibility group assigned to the article of substance.

Column 4: "Subsidiary risk" - Contains the class or division number of any important subsidiary risks

Column 5: "Labels" - Specifies the class hazard label followed by the subsidiary risk label(s) to be applied to packages and overpack

Column 6: "State variation" - Contains references to entries in Attachment 3, which shows State variations from the ICAO TI's

Column 7: "Special provisions" - Contains a number referring to the appropriate entries in Table 3-2

Column 8: "UN packing group" - Contains the UN packing group number assigned to the article or substance

Column 9: "Passenger aircraft - Packing instruction" - Refers to the relevant packing instructions listed in Part 4 for transport on passenger aircraft

Column 10: "Passenger aircraft" - Maximum net quantity per package in mass or volume

Column 11: "Cargo aircraft - Packing instruction" - Gives information similar to that of column 9 but for transport on cargo aircraft only

Column 12: "Cargo aircraft" - Maximum net quantity per package (similar to Column 10) for transport on cargo aircraft only