Safe transport of dangerous goods

MEDIA RELEASE

Safe transport of dangerous goods – NZS 5433 updated with latest requirements

Standards New Zealand has revised New Zealand's Standard for the transport of dangerous goods on land (NZS 5433). The 2012 version of NZS 5433 will help the transport, chemical, and packaging industries to comply with the latest safety requirements. It also brings the Standard up to date with the latest United Nations recommendations and changes to New Zealand rules and regulations since 2007. The revision was initiated by the New Zealand Transport Agency.

NZS 5433 provides information to help those who make, package, transport, or regulate the transport of dangerous goods by road or rail within New Zealand. The Standard represents best practice and includes information such as packaging, packing instructions, labelling, and segregation of dangerous goods during transport. Additional tools are available to help users of NZS 5433 to comply with safety requirements, including a chart and a segregation wheel for quick reference on which dangerous goods can be carried with other dangerous goods.

There is the potential for harm when safety requirements for transporting dangerous goods are ignored. For example, recently an explosives handler, frustrated with filling out the necessary paperwork for moving dangerous goods, tried to illegally take a large amount of explosives on to an inter-island ferry. Police stopped him before he drove on to the ship.

The explosives handler pleaded guilty to charges of criminal nuisance and failing to correctly identify his load, provide the required dangerous goods declaration, placard his vehicle to warn of the dangerous load, and carry dangerous goods documentation. The High Court judge said the potential for harm had been enormous and sentenced the explosives handler to 300 hours community work and a $5,000 fine.

Rigorous consultation with industry and the public to update the Standard

An expert committee updated NZS 5433 using a consensus-based approach to ensure the changes to the Standard are practical and widely supported. The revision included widespread consultation with affected parties, technical review by industry experts, and public input, to bring the Standard up to date with current information and best practice.

The updated NZS 5433:

• incorporates the recommendations of the 16th revised edition of the United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods

• matches the latest New Zealand rules and regulations that cite NZS5433. (NZS 5433 is cited in the Land Transport Rule: Dangerous Goods 2005, and Dangerous Goods Amendments 2010 and 2011 (the Dangerous Goods Rule), and covers requirements of regulations made under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996)

• includes an improved layout to help users to comply with the relevant rules and regulations for the transport of dangerous goods on land.

NZS 5433 consists of two parts.

• NZS 5433.1:2012 Transport of dangerous goods on land Part 1: Technical information, which supersedes NZS 5433.1:2007. Part 1 is the main body of the Standard and covers technical requirements, including classification criteria and packaging performance standards.

• NZS 5433.2:2012 Transport of dangerous goods on land Part 2: List of dangerous goods, which supersedes NZS 5433.2:2007. Part 2 contains detailed information, such as the United Nations list of dangerous goods and any special provisions that apply to particular dangerous goods.

Material that is incorporated by reference in the Dangerous Goods Rule is clearly marked by shaded text in both parts of the Standard.

Purchasing NZS 5433

You can choose from the following purchasing options for NZS 5433:2012:

•NZS 5433:2012 Set options (all sets include Parts 1 and 2)

o Hard copy (with complementary NZS 5433W Segregation Wheel)

oElectronic copy (PDF)

oCD-ROM (CD-ROM Set includes Parts 1 and 2)

•NZS 5433.1:2012 (Part 1 only)

o Hard copy

oElectronic copy (PDF)

oCD-ROM (Part 1 only)

•NZS 5433.2:2012 (Part 2 only)