...
Dangerous goods must be safely loaded, secured, and unloaded to prevent the accidental release of dangerous goods. Care must be taken to ensure incompatible materials are not loaded and transported together.
Scope
Any person involved in the loading or unloading of dangerous goods must comply with all the applicable loading and unloading requirements in the regulations.
Regulatory citations
- Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations, Part 5.4
Key definitions
- Carrier: A person who has possession of dangerous goods while they are in transport.
- Consignor: A person in Canada who:
- Is named in a shipping document as the consignor;
- Imports or who will import dangerous goods into Canada; or
- If neither of the above apply, has possession of dangerous goods immediately before they are in transport.
- Handling: Loading, unloading, packing or unpacking dangerous goods, and includes storing them, in a means of containment during the transportation process.
Summary of requirements
Dangerous goods must be loaded and secured to prevent, under normal conditions of transport, damage to the means of containment or to the means of transport that could lead to an accidental release of the dangerous goods.
Transport Canada’s dangerous goods regulations do not have a segregation table for dangerous goods other than explosives. An explosives compatibility chart is available in the regulations, however.
Persons responsible for loading dangerous goods must ensure compatibility prior to loading. A dangerous good’s safety data sheet can be used as a source for compatibility information.
Incompatible materials should not transported together. If a material is unstable, it should not be transported with mixed loads or in the same means of containment as other dangerous goods.