Significant Changes and Amendments to the 60th Edition Published

Airplane in Flight

Change is in the Air – IATA DGR 2019

In keeping with past practice, IATA (International Air Transport Association) has released the summary of significant changes to the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR) that will appear in the upcoming 60^th Edition effective in January 2019.

This useful summary appears in the “Introduction” section of the IATA DGR and allows users to check for items that may affect their procedures that have changed since the previous edition. There are a variety of changes highlighted that comprise revisions to existing provisions, addition of new items and deletions. While some changes are based on updates to the United Nations Recommendations for model regulations (UN Model), typically adopted in other modal regulations, some are specific to the IATA DGR.

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General UN Updates

There are some editorial changes that relate to the clarification of terminology regarding “risk” versus “hazard”. This mainly affects the designation of subsidiary classifications which will now be referred to as “subsidiary hazards”. This is more logical and conforms to protocols in safety and considers “hazard” as the danger inherent to a substance; compared to “risk” as an indication of the possibility/probability of harm from the danger.

Other UN Model-based changes include adding UN numbers, qualifying ammonium nitrate fertilizer classification, adding additional provisions for classification/packaging group assignment for corrosives and expansion of classification of articles containing DG under UN3363.

Rationality has ensued, following UN discussions, with the elimination of the 2 mm minimum line thickness requirement on hazard diamond labels.

Lithium Battery (as usual!) Changes

Criteria have been added to address hybrid lithium ion/metal-celled batteries, including a new special provision (SP) A213 requiring their assignment to UN3090 or UN3091 with Section II packing instruction limits. Also, a new UN3536 entry is added for multimodal container (CTU) units that function as large fixed-base batteries. SP A201 has been revised, and SP A334 added to expand the State approvals required to ship UN3090 or UN 3481 as cargo on passenger aircraft. Packing Instructions (PI 966 and 969 have been clarified regarding the number of spares that may be “packed with” equipment. References to the Figure 7.4H old lithium battery label have been deleted as December 31, 2018 ends the transition period for implementing the new lithium battery mark (and Class 9 Lithium battery hazard label).

For air operators, new IATA ERG Codes “12FZ” replace the previous “9FZ”, with an associated new fire drill number 12, to reflect the possible fire hazards from lithium batteries despite their Class 9 designation. Appendix B has additional IMP Codes added to distinguish between Section II batteries UN3090/UN3480 and UN3091/UN3481.

Other Changes in Specific Parts

5 Training: clarification of 3-month window for recurrent training.
3 Limitations for Carry-on:
- clarification on classification/checking/stowage requirements
- additions/deletions regarding implanted radiopharmaceuticals, energy efficient lamps and battery-powered mobility aids
2.8: Usual updating of State/Operator variations
3 Classification, 4.2 DG List, 4.4:
- additions/deletions to reflect new UN numbers, SP changes.
- this includes a new “ID8001” entry for Disilane as a placeholder pending UN Model development of treating pyrophoric gases. The entry is listed as “FORBIDDEN” for transport
5 Packing Instructions, 6 Package Testing:
- 10 PI involving Class 2, 3, 6 and 9 entries are highlighted
- New ISO standards and transition periods are included in 6.4.2
8 Shipper’s Declaration:
- A transition period is provided, until December 31, 2024, to use pre-60^th Edition forms that refer to “subsidiary risk”, “title” of signatory and “place” of signing. The example forms have, however, been changed to reflect the current wording.
9 Handling:
- Clarification is provided regarding exemption of UN3528 and UN3529 Engines from segregation requirements from Class 5.1, and from accessibility location restrictions.
Appendix H Competency-Based Training (CBT):
- Current, revised CBT proposals have been updated, including a proposed adoption date of January 1, 2020 with a 2-year transition for implementation.