UN Issues Updated Model Recommendations for the Transport of Dangerous Goods

The UN revised its model recommendations for the transport of dangerous goods for the twentieth time and made them available for download. The document serves as a foundation for governments and international organizations that are responsible for the safety of transportation of dangerous goods to develop their own rules for the such transport on various means of transportation.

The first edition appeared in 1956. The recommendations cover the classification and packaging of dangerous goods among other topics. For example, they include a sample danger label. Dangerous goods are also listed with their UN numbers. The recommendations also specify testing procedures and transport documents.

The recommendations are usually updated every two years so that the UN can encourage globally uniform standards. That’s the only way to avoid as much red tape as possible and simplify movements from one carrier to another – such as the transshipment of a ship container from China onto railroad cars in Germany.

The differences between the current version and the previous version are also available here.

Companies that ship dangerous goods within Germany must follow the requirements of §3 of the German Dangerous Goods Advisor Ordinance (GbV) (German only) and appoint a safety advisor for the transport of dangerous goods. KFT offers its clients this service as an external safety advisor. If you’re interested in this service, please contact us at gefahrgut@kft.de for more information.