International Comparison of Dangerous Goods Shipping Document Regulations

This paper summarizes research carried out for Transport Canada (TC) involving an international scan of regulations that require a “shipping document” to accompany dangerous goods (DG) while they are being transported. DG are transported daily throughout Canada and globally by all modes. These shipments, totalling millions in Canada annually, have great potential for endangering life and damaging property and the environment. Accordingly, governments around the world have developed regulations governing all stages of DG transportation. A core feature of these regulations is the requirement that a shipping document containing specified information accompany DG during their transportation. This is to inform emergency services, in case of an accident, about the DG being transported and help determine the mitigation actions required. In Canada, the definition of the DG shipping document and the specification of its form and contents can be found in the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations. Currently, TC is considering ways to modernize its DG shipping document regulations while maintaining safety. In 2020, TC launched a pilot to test the use of electronic DG shipping documents, aiming to understand whether changes in safety might be brought by using electronic documents. The research described here was carried out to inform TC on the DG shipping document regulations of other countries. A range of international DG shipping document practices was investigated with the intent to identify best practices and possible opportunities to modernize Canada’s DG shipping document regulations.

• Order URL:
  • https://ctrf.ca
• Authors:
  • Schulman, J F
  • Kinjarapu, A
• Conference:
  • CTRF 56th Annual Conference - Ensuring Resilience in Transportation Systems: Anticipating and Responding to Pandemic, Climate, Demographic and Economic Changes
• Publication Date: 2021-5

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: 9p

Subject/Index Terms

• ITRD Terms: 8018: Canada; 8525: Conference; 8555: Information documentation; 9034: International; 1556: Legislation; 8588: State of the art report; 1544: Traffic regulations; 1103: Transport of hazardous materials
• Subject Areas: I73: Traffic Control;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01888489
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transportation Association of Canada (TAC)
• Files: ITRD, TAC
• Created Date: Jul 21 2023 5:21PM