Hazardous Goods | Business shipping and e-commerce fulfilment service uk

What you need to know about dangerous or hazardous goods

At Smart Directions, we’re keen to pass on important information. On this occasion, it’s all you need to know about dangerous or hazardous goods. So, what are dangerous or hazardous goods? It’s pretty easy to define – anything that could become a hazard to life, the environment, health, safety and property. This refers to goods such as:

Aerosols
Lithium batteries (a pretty big one in today’s world)
Infectious substances
Fireworks
Dry-ice
Gasoline power engines/machinery
Lighters
Paint

The supply chain requires businesses to correctly identify and categorise the class of their dangerous goods freight BEFORE handing it over to a courier and sending it on its way.

For easy reference, here is that list:

Class 1—Explosives
Class 2—Gases
Class 3—Flammable Liquids
Class 4—Flammable Solids; Substances Liable to Spontaneous Combustion; Substances which, in Contact with Water Emit Flammable Gases
Class 5—Oxidising Substances and Organic Peroxides
Class 6—Toxic and Infectious Substances
Class 7—Radioactive Material
Class 8—Corrosives
Class 9—Miscellaneous Dangerous Substances and Articles, Including Environmentally Hazardous Substances

What are the top 3 most common dangerous goods? Out of the 1.25 million+ packages of “hazmat” shipped each year, the top three are:

Flammable liquids
Dry-ice
Lithium batteries

How do you know if your item is prohibited or must be handled with care? The IATA (International Air Transport Association) provides a manual called the “Dangerous Goods Regulation Manual” which is updated every year, and currently has over 3,000 articles and substances most commonly shipped by air freight. Of course, companies should check the specific guidelines for each carrier and country involved in their supply chain, to make sure they are always compliant. Get in touch to find out everything you need to know about dangerous or hazardous goods. We’re on hand to help make logistics, logical.

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