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REGULATIONS 53
THE JOINT MEETING AIMS TO MAINTAIN HARMONISATION, WHEREVER POSSIBLE, BETWEEN THE PROVISIONS OF RID, ADR AND ADN
UN HARMONISATION The secretariat provided the Joint Meeting with the report of the ad hoc Working Group on the Harmonisation of RID/ADR/ADN with the UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, which had met in Geneva
up to the modal bodies to transpose these amendments into the texts of RID, ADR and ADN. The commentary below does not include a significant number of editorial corrections and clarifications. Part 1 The Working Group examined two proposals to provide an exemption for data loggers and other battery-powered equipment attached to cargo transport units; the UN’s changes to 1.1.3.7 were not thought to be ideal and the Working Group proposed instead a textual change to 1.1.3.7(b). This also included adoption of a new 5.5.4: Dangerous goods in equipment in use or intended for use during carriage 5.5.4.1 Dangerous goods (e.g. lithium batteries, fuel cell cartridges) contained in equipment such as data loggers and cargo tracking devices, attached to or placed in packages, overpacks, containers or load compartments are not subject to any provisions of RID/ADR/ADN other than the following: (a) the equipment shall be in use or intended for use during carriage;
5.5.4.2 When such equipment containing dangerous goods is carried as a consignment, the relevant entry of Table A of Chapter 3.2 shall be used and all applicable provisions of RID/ADR/ ADN shall apply. In 1.2.1, a new definition is provided for ‘Dose rate’: “the ambient dose equivalent or the directional dose equivalent, as appropriate, per unit time, measured at the point of interest”. This replaces the definition of ‘radiation level’, which is deleted; in other parts of the text relating to radioactive substances, ‘radiation level’ is replaced by ‘dose rate’ throughout. There are a number of other technical changes in Section 1.6.6 and Chapters 1.7 and 1.10 relating to radioactive materials. After some discussion, the definition of ‘Self-accelerating decomposition temperature’ was amended to read: Self-accelerating decomposition temperature (SADT) means the lowest temperature at which self-accelerating decomposition may occur in a substance in the packaging, IBC or tank as
Group felt that this falls outside the scope of this definition. Germany had noted some issues with the inclusion of the words ‘except for animal material’ in table 1.10.3.1.2. While ‘animal material’ was formerly carried in cultures and therefore classified by default as infectious substance of category A, most such material now fulfils the criteria for category B. It was also noted that category A animal material is currently not exempted as a high-consequence dangerous good in table 1.4.1 of the Model Regulations, causing an inconsistency with RID/ADR/ADN. It was felt that the UN TDG Sub-committee should be alerted to this. Part 2 In 2.1.5.4 a new sentence is added to the end: However, this section applies to articles containing explosives which are excluded from Class 1 in accordance with 2.2.1.1.8.2. In Chapter 2.2, references to a number of standards have been updated and revised. Also in this section, room has been found to make reference to the new UN 3549 Medical waste, category A, affecting humans, solid or Medical waste, category A, affecting animals only, solid. This entry was adopted by the UN to cater for large volumes of potentially
in late April 2019 under the chairmanship of Claude Pfauvadel. The Working Group by and large accepted the changes stemming from the work of the UN Experts, with some comments, and its recommendations were again largely accepted by the Joint Meeting. It should be noted, however, that it will be
(b) the contained dangerous goods (e.g. lithium batteries, fuel cell cartridges) shall meet the applicable construction and test requirements specified in RID/ADR/ADN; and (c) the equipment shall be capable of withstanding the shocks and loadings normally encountered during carriage.
offered for carriage. The SADT shall be determined in accordance with the test procedures given in Part II, Section 28 of the Manual of Tests and Criteria. The secretariat noted that this definition loses the existing text relating to the effects of heating under confinement but the Working
infected solid waste generated during medical responses to virus outbreaks, in response specifically to the last major Ebola virus outbreak. It has also necessitated an amendment to 2.2.62.1.11.1, which now reads: Medical or clinical waste containing: (a) Category A infectious substances shall be
FURTHER WORK IS NEEDED ON THE PLACARDING OF TANKERS THAT HAVE CHANGED GRADE
Another informal paper from France proposed deletion of transitional measures on the tank record contained in 1.6.3.16 and 1.6.4.18. The Working Group felt that this move was premature, as tanks that entered into service before 2007 may not have the type approval in the tank record. The Working Group also noted that similar provisions in RID are due to be amended in 2021 and perhaps this provides a solution. However, with time running out it was decided to return to the issue at the March 2020 session.
HCB MONTHLY | FEBRUARY 2020
assigned to UN No. 2814, UN No. 2900 or UN No. 3549, as appropriate. Solid medical waste containing Category A infectious substances generated from the medical treatment of humans or veterinary treatment of animals may be assigned to UN No. 3549. The UN No. 3549 entry shall not be used for waste from bio-research or liquid waste; (b) Category B infectious substances shall be assigned to UN No. 3291. Part 3 There are only a few new entries in the Dangerous Goods List (Table A of Chapter 3.2): UN 5011 Detonators, electronic programmable for blasting, Division 1.1B UN 5012 Detonators, electronic programmable for blasting, Division 1.4B UN 5013 Detonators, electronic programmable for blasting, Division 1.42, SP 347 UN 3549 Medical waste, category A, affecting humans, solid or Medical waste, category A, affecting animals only, solid, Division 6.2, SP 395 UN 3549 Medical waste, category A, affecting humans, solid in refrigerated liquid nitrogen or Medical waste, category A, affecting animals only, solid in refrigerated liquid nitrogen, Division 6.2, SP 395. A definition of detonators, electronic programmable for blasting is added in 2.2.1.4: Detonators with enhanced safety and security features, utilizing electronic components to transmit a firing signal with validated commands and secure communications. Detonators of this type cannot be initiated by other means. The final new entry does not exist in the Model Regulations but is adopted into RID/ ADR/ADN by analogy with UN 2814, 2900 and 3291, and requires labelling/placarding with the Division 2.2 symbol. Elsewhere in the Dangerous Goods List, for RID/ADR only, ‘LP101’ has been added alongside ‘P130’ for the following entries: UN 0005, 0007, 0012, 0014, 0033, 0037, 0136, 0167, 0180, 0238, 0240, 0242, 0279, 0291, 0294,0295, 0324, 0326, 0327, 0330, 0338, 0339, 0348, 0369, 0371, 0413, 0414, 0417, 0426, 0427, 0453, 0457, 0458, 0459 and 0460. For UN 0340, 0341, 0342 and 0343, ‘393’ is added in column (6). For UN 1002, 1006, 1013, 1046, 1056, 1058, 1065, 1066, 1080, 1952, 1956, 2036, 3070, 3163, 3297, 3298 and 3299, ‘392’ replaces ‘660’ in column (6). For all UN 2037 entries, ‘327’ is added in column (6); »
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