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On June 23, 2023, Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport (MoT) proposed a draft Decree stipulating the list of dangerous goods, the transport of dangerous goods by road motor vehicles and the transport of dangerous goods on inland waterways. It is set to replace the existing Decree No.42/2020/ND-CP. The draft is now open for consultation.
According to MoT, the draft was formulated to suit the management of ministries, sectors and localities and create more favorable conditions for transport units. This was in response to difficulties in the assignment of responsibilities and overlapping regulations over the process of practicing and implementing the regulation.
Compared with Decree No.42/2020/ND-CP, there is no significant change in terms of classification, packaging, and labeling. The amendment mainly address the assignment of responsibilities to the ministries in charge of granting dangerous goods transport permits.
The draft prescribes the list of 2921 dangerous goods as classified by classes and groups, together with their UN numbers and hazard numbers (a number with 2-3 digits used to express the hazard of each substance) in the Appendix I to the draft.
Classification
The dangerous goods are classified into 9 classes and subdivided into more groups as follows:
Class 1: Explosives and explosive items
Group 1.1: Substances and items with a wide explosion risk.
Group 1.2: Substances and items that are likely to splash but do not explode wide.
Group 1.3: Substances and items that present a small fire and explosion risk or small sparks or both, but do not explode wide.
Group 1.4: Substances and items present a negligible risk.
Group 1.5: The substance that is insensitive but has a wide explosion risk.
Group 1.6: Items that are particularly insensitive, without a wide explosion risk.
Class 2: Gases
Group 2.1: Flammable gases.
Group 2.2: Non-flammable and non-toxic gases.
Group 2.3: Toxic gases.
Class 3: Flammable liquids and desensitized liquid explosives
Class 4:
Group 4.1: Flammable solids, self-reactive substances and solid explosives are immersed in liquid or desensitized.
Group 4.2: Substances likely to spontaneously ignite.
Group 4.3: Substances that produce inflammable gases when react with water.
Class 5:
Group 5.1: Oxidizing agents.
Group 5.2: Organic peroxide.
Class 6:
Group 6.1: Toxic substances.
Group 6.2: Infectious substances.
Class 7: Radioactive substances.
Class 8: Corrosive substances.
Class 9: Miscellaneous dangerous items and substances.
Packaging and labeling
Notably, the packaging of dangerous goods shall comply with National Technical Standards (TCVN) or National Technical Regulations (QCVN) corresponding to the type of goods. The labeling requirement is addressed in Decree No.43/2017/ND-CP. Danger sign and danger symbols should be visible outside each packaging and tank of dangerous goods. The detailed requirements for sizes, patterns, colors of danger sign and symbol are prescribed in Appendix III to the draft.
Obligation
For businesses who appoint or itself as a dangerous goods transporter, it is essential to obtain dangerous goods transport permits. The time limit of the permit is granted for each shipment with the duration of 24 hours.
A dangerous goods transport permit contains the following principle information:
Name, address, contact number of unit which is granted permit; full name and title of its legal representative;
Type and group of dangerous goods;
The transport route and time schedule;
Term of the permit.
Businesses are not required to obtain dangerous goods transport permits for the following cases:
Transport of dangerous goods being liquefied natural gas (LNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) with a total volume of less than 1,080 kg;
Transport of dangerous goods being liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) with a total volume of less than 2,250 kg;
Transport of dangerous goods being liquid fuel with a total volume of less than 1,500 liter;
Transport of dangerous goods being plant protection substances with a total volume of less than 1,000 kg;
Transport of dangerous goods to the remaining dangerous toxic chemicals in the types and groups of dangerous goods.
The draft document can be accessed here.
