As previously announced by Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport, Transport Canada officially published amendments to the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations in Canada Gazette II on July 2 which include provisions to harmonize placarding requirements with the U.S. while at the same time providing more accurate information on the types of Dangerous Goods being transported, primarily for the purposes of first responders.
Although the regulations become effective July 14, 2014 there will be a six month transition period for drivers, carriers and shippers to come into compliance with the new requirements.
These TDG amendments, originally drafted and discussed with industry in the late 2000s, were supported by the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) Board of Directors in 2009 and approved when the amendments were proposed in 2012 in Canada Gazette I.
Although most of the amendments are minor in nature (designed to eliminate confusion with the interpretation of the regulations and those applicable to shippers), there are some key changes of interest for the trucking industry:
• Additional restrictions and quantities allowed for the display of a DANGER placard. The principal change is the use of the DANGER placards to loads (if eligible – meaning no superseding placarding requirements apply) only having a mass of less than 1000kg. This will align with US regulations, assist in cross-border compliance of shipments and provide more accurate information in the form of additional placards on the goods being transported. The DANGER placard up until these amendments, was considered a coverall measure that can be misleading in terms of what type and quantity of goods are on board a vehicle and also relieved the responsibility of many shippers in terms of providing proper placarding for their shipments to carriers. From a transition standpoint, carriers moving multiple shipment loads from the US into Canada are already complying with restricted use of the DANGER placard;
• Flexibility for drivers in leaving placards in place on large means of containment until all dangerous goods indicated by that placard are unloaded. Today, in many instances drivers must remove placards once the quantity of dangerous goods becomes less than 500 kgs or face non-compliance charges. This is a cumbersome requirement to comply with at times and misleading in the sense that there are still dangerous goods on the vehicle. This would significantly improve reciprocity with the regulations in the United States and make it easier for truck drivers with multiple deliveries to comply with the regulations;
• Introduce new safety marks for dangerous goods included in Class 5.2, Organic Peroxides, for marine pollutants and for limited quantities of dangerous goods, to harmonize with the UN Recommendations for the Transport of Dangerous Goods;
• Allowing the use of four labels or two placards on intermediate bulk containers of up to 3000 litres and;
• Requiring additional markings on means of containment used for the transportation of dangerous goods that are toxic by inhalation.
Full details of the regulatory changes related to Safety Marks and Placarding can be found in the July 2 publication of Canada Gazette II at the following link — http://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2014/2014-07-02/html/sor-dors159-eng.php