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THE YEAR AHEAD PREVIEW • WHILE THE COVID PANDEMIC IS STILL IMPACTING THE ABILITY OF REGULATORS TO COME UP WITH NEW REGULATIONS, THERE ARE SOME INDICATIONS OF ACTIVITY THIS YEAR THIS IS AN EVEN-NUMBERED year and, for the dangerous goods transport sector, that means not so much in the way of new regulation to deal with. The biennial pattern of updates gives us some respite in 2022 – but that isn’t to say that we can take our eyes off the ball. For a start, two of the big regulatory changes have already happened, as they both took effect promptly on 1 January. Firstly, Amendment 40-20 to the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code became mandatory on that date. In practice, though, that is not such a big deal: Amendment 40-20 has been available for use
since 1 January 2021 and it reflects the changes included in the 21st revised edition of the UN Model Regulations, published in 2019. As such, it is also harmonised (more or less) with the other international and regional modal regulations that came into effect over the course of last year so many in the supply chain, particularly those consigning intermodal shipments, will have already taken up the new version. The second update to have already come into effect is the 63rd edition of the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR). IATA works on an annual rather than biennial cycle,
so the 62nd edition, which took effect on 1 January 2021, mirrors the current edition of the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) Technical Instructions on the transport of dangerous goods by air, once more based on the 21st revised edition of the UN Model Regulations. IATA says the annual update helps it to keep abreast of safety-critical issues and also that the revenue it receives from the sale of each year’s DGR helps fund its dangerous goods programme. In even-numbered years, without the new ICAO Technical Instructions to follow, IATA’s DGR update generally contains fewer technical amendments, and the same is true this year, with most of those changes adopted referring to lithium batteries. A fuller report on the 62nd edition of the DGR can be found in the October issue of HCB (see page 87). VIEW FROM THE TOP The international regulatory bodies are now halfway through their current biennium of work. They have, however, been affected like industry at large by the hygiene measures, travel restrictions and other interruptions resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, which has slowed the pace of rulemaking. That has been compounded by space constraints at the UN’s Palais des Nations in Geneva, as well as restricted availability of live interpretation, which is needed if decisions are to be made. Taking that into account, it can be expected that the 23rd revised edition of the UN Model Regulations, due to be adopted this coming December, will feature fewer changes than usual. Indeed, Duane Pfund, current chair of the UN Sub-committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, said last year that the Sub-committee feels that the Model Regulations are now sufficiently mature that they require little in the way of maintenance, other than the adoption of provisions to deal with emerging hazards, many of which relate to energy storage technology. Mirroring once more the current experience of the industry at large, the Sub-committee is now being expected to incorporate within its work reference to the UN’s Sustainability Development Goals; in practical terms this will involve regulating the transport of
HCB MONTHLY | JANUARY 2022
