Transportation of Dangerous Goods HCS 3000

Introduction A dangerous good is any material that can cause injury to others By law, a worker must be trained to handle dangerous goods The Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act (TDG) controls what must be done when transporting a dangerous good by road, rail, air or sea

Some Facts... The purpose of WHMIS is to ensure that all hazardous materials are properly labeled and stored The purpose of TDG covers the transportation of these materials Some of the most dangerous situations happen when hazardous materials are being transported In Canada, the TDG Act was passed by the Federal Government in 1980.

TDG Legislation TDG legislation covers the movement of dangerous goods from the loading dock of a shipping company to the receiving point It also identifies dangerous goods and makes sure that the shippers and handlers know how to handle and move them It states that employees are responsible for seeing that the TDG regulations are followed

More on legislation... It is against the law for untrained workers to handle dangerous goods while they are being transported.

Classes of TDG Dangerous goods are identified by class: ◦ Class 1 – explosives (gunpowder) ◦ Class 2 – gases (propane, air) ◦ Class 3 – flammable liquids (gasoline) ◦ Class 4 – flammable solids (matches, sulphur) ◦ Class 5 – oxidizers (things that give off O 2 ) ◦ Class 6 – poisonous/infectious materials (bacteria, viruses) ◦ Class 7 – radioactive materials (uranium) ◦ Class 8 – corrosive substances (acid, soda) ◦ Class 9 – Miscellaneous (asbestos, PCB’s)

All symbols show the Symbol at the top, Product Identification Number in the middle and the Class Number at the bottom.

Markings The TDG Act requires vehicles, containers, packages, tanks and cylinders containing dangerous goods to be properly marked. Safety Placards are placed on any large vehicle containing dangerous goods – they must be placed on all four sides of the vehicle The labels must be visible and easy to read

Markings cont... The most important reason for the markings is to provide information to emergency crews in the event of an accident Responding incorrectly to a spill of a dangerous chemical can have serious effects