On March 6, 2023, India published the Transportation of Dangerous Goods — Guidelines (IS 18149: 2023), which provides guidelines on packaging, labeling, handling and transport operations for safe transportation of dangerous goods based on their classification.
Last year, India consulted on a revision to Classification of Dangerous Goods (Third Revision of IS 1446) to align with the UN Model Regulation Rev. 22 (2021). It covers the classification of dangerous goods on the basis of UN number and type of hazards involved but left out the packaging and transportation provisions. To fully incorporate the latest UN editions, the Guidelines was published to supplement IS 1446 and address the packaging and transportation of dangerous goods.
Classification
As prescribed, substances and articles are assigned to one of nine classes according to the hazard they present. The nine classes include:
Class 1 - Explosives
Class 2 - Gases
Class 3 - Flammable liquids
Class 4 - Flammable solids
Class 5 - Oxidizing substances and organic peroxides
Class 6 - Toxic and infectious substances
Class 7 - Radioactive material
Class 8 - Corrosive substances
Class 9 - Miscellaneous dangerous substances and articles
For packing purposes, substances should also be assigned to the following three packing groups:
Packing Group I – Substances presenting high danger;
Packing Group II – Substances presenting medium danger; and
Packing Group III – Substances presenting low danger.
