TC Announces Updates for Gas Container Standards | Help Center

Transport Canada Announces Updates for Gas Container Standards

Transport Canada has announced updates to four standards on packaging for transporting gases in pressure vessels. All of these standards are referenced in the “Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations” (TDGR) and are authorized by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA). As of January 2025, the updated standards are:

CSA B339 “Cylinders, spheres, and tubes for the transportation of dangerous goods;”
CSA B340 “Selection and use of cylinders, spheres, tubes, and other containers for the transportation of dangerous goods, Class 2;”
CSA B341 “UN pressure receptacles and multiple-element gas containers for the transport of dangerous goods;” and
CSA B342 “Selection and use of UN pressure receptacles and multiple-element gas containers for the transport of dangerous goods, Class 2.”

What Changes Are Involved?

Basically, these changes will update the procedures for testing and certifying new cylinders, particularly with updates to harmonize with the UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (UN Model Regulations).

According to Transport Canada, the major changes to these standards are:

CSA B339

Revised requirements for hydrostatic pressure tests at time of manufacture
Revision to the new design criteria
New welding requirements for specification TC-4EM cylinders
Revised requirements for ultrasonically inspecting the starting stock of specification TC-3ALM cylinders
New provisions for requalifying seamless cylinders and tubes by ultrasonic testing instead of a pressure test
New provisions for the requalification of series-4 containers in noncorrosive gas service
Clarified requirements for repairing and rebuilding cylinders
New and revised provisions for applying requalification marks using a metal plate
New requirements for maintaining requalification records

CSA B340

Revised requirements for cylinders and tubes mounted on vehicles and trailers
New requirements for cylinders and tubes longer than 2 metres
Revised filling requirements for carbon dioxide
New provisions for filling specification TC-4LM containers with methane, refrigerated liquid and natural gas, refrigerated liquid with high methane content
Revised provisions for vacuum-insulated closed containers for helium refrigerated liquid

CSA B341

Alignment with the 20th, 21st and 22nd editions of the UN Model Regulations:
- New reference to International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 10462:2013 “Gas cylinders — Acetylene cylinders — Periodic inspection and maintenance”
- New reference to ISO 10961:2019 “Gas Cylinders — Cylinder bundles — Design, manufacture, testing and inspection”
- New reference to ISO 11119-4:2016 “Gas cylinders — Refillable composite gas cylinders — Design, construction and testing — Part 4: Fully wrapped fibre reinforced composite gas cylinders up to 150 l with load-sharing welded metallic liners”
- New reference to ISO 16148:2016 “Gas cylinders — Refillable seamless steel gas cylinders and tubes – Acoustic emission examination (AT) and follow-up ultrasonic examination (UT) for periodic inspection and testing”
- New reference to ISO 18119:2018:2021 “Gas cylinders — Seamless steel and seamless aluminum-alloy gas cylinders and tubes – Periodic inspection and testing”
- New reference to ISO 20475:2018 “Gas cylinders — Cylinder bundles — Periodic inspection and testing”
- New reference to ISO 21172-1:2015:2018 “Gas cylinders — Welded steel pressure drums up to 3 000 litres capacity for the transport of gases — Design and construction — Part 1: Capacities up to 1 000 litres”
- New reference to ISO 22434:2006 “Transportable gas cylinders — Inspection and maintenance of cylinder valves”
- New reference to ISO 23088: 2020 “Gas cylinders – Periodic inspection and testing of welded steel pressure drums — Capacities up to 1 000 l”
- New provisions for UN pressure drums
- Revised shell requirements for UN cylinders for acetylene service
- New provisions for periodically inspecting and testing seamless pressure receptacles by acoustic emission examination and follow-up ultrasonic examination
Revised requirements for the periodic inspection and test of composite UN cylinders and composite UN tubes
New requirements for inspecting the neck mounting surfaces for UN refillable seamless steel tubes
New requirements for design review agencies

CSA B342

Alignment with the 20^th, 21^st and 22^nd editions of the UN Model Regulations:
- New reference to ISO 10156:2017 “Gas cylinders — Gases and gas mixtures — Determination of fire potential and oxidizing ability for the selection of cylinder valve outlets”
- New reference to ISO 11119-4:2016 “Gas cylinders — Refillable composite gas cylinders — Design, construction and testing — Part 4: Fully wrapped fibre reinforced composite gas cylinders up to 150 l with load-sharing welded metallic liners”
- New reference to ISO 14246:2014/A1:2017 “Gas cylinders — Cylinder valves — Manufacturing tests and examinations”
- New reference to ISO 17879:2017 “Gas cylinders — Self-closing cylinder valves — Specification and type testing”
- New provisions for UN pressure drums
- Updated valve protection requirements
- New requirements for mixtures of fluorine
Updated fire test requirements for pressure-relief device system
Revised requirements for cylinders and tubes mounted on vehicles and trailers
New requirements for cylinders and tubes longer than 2 metres

Who’s Affected and When Will the Changes Take Effect?

In general, these changes will affect people who manufacture gas cylinders and other pressurized containers, those who requalify them, and those who fill them with pressurized materials. The new revisions to the standards come into force on August 1^st, 2025.

How Can You Obtain Copies of the Updated Standards?

If you’re one of the above groups, you can access the standards in various ways. (Note, however, that they will not be published in the TDGR itself.) CSA standards can be purchased by telephone from the CSA Group at 1-800-463-6727. You can also order them online through the CSA store. You can either choose a paper copy to be mailed to you or a PDF download of the standard.

Want to look at the standard but not buy? You’re in luck, because there is a free option as well. The CSA has an online platform that allows registered users free access to the these and other safety standards that are referenced in the TDGR. You can set up a free account on their Communities of Interest page. Once you’ve registered, you can search all TDG-related to the CSA standards. For free, but you can’t download them.

Conclusion

If you’re in the compressed gas industry, updating to the new standards will assure that you’re legally compliant and make international harmonization easier. If you have questions about the packaging standards and how to comply with them, contact ICC Compliance Center at 855.734.5469 or send us an email, we’re happy to help.