Dangerous Goods: Identification and Classification

The sender must identify dangerous goods in accordance with Section 4 of IATA's Dangerous Goods Regulations Manual and classify them according to the nine classes detailed below. In addition, the sender must allocate them within one of the following three Packing Groups:

• Packing Group I         High Danger
• Packing Group II        Medium Danger
• Packing Group III       Low Danger

Note: The classification of dangerous goods executed by the United Nations Group of Experts gives a conventional order for the said goods that does not refer to their degree of danger. The degree of danger of a substance is specified by the Packing Group. To determine a Packing Group, technical criteria (i.e. a laboratory test) exists for some substances while others are assigned a Packing Group based solely on experience gained by handling them.

Classes of Dangerous Goods

Dangerous Goods are classified into 9 classes that reflect the type of hazard they represent. Many of these classes are subdivided. Please note that goods are listed in a conventional order, and therefore the order of qualification does not represent the respective degree of danger.

Class 1: Explosives

Subdivision	Description
1.1	Articles and substances that have a massive explosion hazard, are forbidden from air transportation.
1.2	Articles and substances with a projection hazard, but without a massive explosion hazard, are forbidden from air transportation.
1.3	Articles and substances that pose a fire hazard, are forbidden from transportation on passenger flights, and only some of these are permitted on cargo flights.
1.4	Articles and substances that present no significant hazard, are forbidden from transportation on passenger flights, and only some of these are permitted on cargo flights.
1.5	Very insensitive substances or articles that, nevertheless, have a massive explosion hazard, are forbidden from air transportation.
1.6	Extremely insensitive substances or articles that do not have a massive explosion hazard, are forbidden from air transportation.

Explosives aren't assigned to a specific packing group, however the packing used for these products must at least classify for packing group II. Explosives are also assigned to Compatibility Groups, based on the article's characteristics, design, and content. The Compatibility Group is identified with a letter (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J, K, L, N, S) that must always be placed after the Division number (i.e. 1.4S). The Compatibility Group has an important role when considering the necessary separation requirements between different explosives.

Class 2: Gases

Includes compressed, liquefied, refrigerated liquefied, and dissolved gases.

Subdivision	Description
2.1	Flammable Gases.
2.2	Nonflammable, Nontoxic Gases.
2.3	Toxic Gases.

Class 3: Flammable Liquids

Includes liquids or mixtures of liquids containing solids in solution or suspension that have a flash point* of 60°C or less in a closed container or cup test (i.e.: paints, alcohols, solvents).

* The flash point is the lowest temperature at which a liquid starts to give off enough flammable vapors to burn when momentarily exposed to a source of ignition.

Class 4: Flammable Solids

Includes flammable solids, solids that pose risks of spontaneous combustion, and solids that, on contact with water, release flammable gases.

Subdivision	Description
4.1	Flammable solids (i.e. safety matches), self-reacting substances, and desensitized solid explosives (i.e. nitrocellulose in aqueous solutions).
4.2	Substances posing risks of spontaneous combustion (i.e. cotton waste).
4.3	Substances that on contact with water release flammable gases (i.e. potassium).

Class 5: Oxidizing Substances AND Organic Peroxides

Subdivision	Description
5.1	Oxidizing Substances: while not combustible on their own, may cause or contribute to the combustion of other materials, generally by releasing oxygen (i.e.: Chilean saltpeter, ammonium nitrate).
5.2	Organic Peroxides: thermally unstable substances, sensitive to impact and temperature changes. For transportation they require liquids or solids to desensitize or dilute them (i.e.: acetyl acetone peroxide).

Class 6: Toxic and Infectious Substances

Subdivision	Description
6.1	Toxic Substances: substances that if swallowed, inhaled, or upon contact with the skin can cause death or harm human health (i.e. pesticides, rat poison, germicides).
6.2	Infectious Substances: those known or reasonably believed to contain pathogens.*

* Pathogens are defined as those microorganisms (including rickettsias, bacteria, viruses, and pathogenic fungi, among others) that can cause illness in humans or animals (i.e. bacillus anthracis, HIV, swine fever virus, etc.).

Class 7: Radioactive Materials

Radioactive substances are materials that constantly and spontaneously emit ionizing radiation that can be harmful to the health of human beings. This type of radiation cannot be detected by the human senses, but can be detected by special measuring instruments.

The activity of the material is expressed in a unit of measurement called Becquerel (Bq), which is equal to a nuclear disintegration per second. Because this is an extremely small unit, the following units are generally used:

• Kilo Becquerel (kBq). 10^3 disintegrations per second.
• Mega Becquerel (MBq). 10^6 disintegrations per second.
• Giga Becquerel (GBq). 10^9 disintegrations per second.
• Tera Becquerel (TBq). 10^12 disintegrations per second.

When referring to the quantity of radioactive material for transport, one actually refers to its activity. The maximum activity permitted for type A loads is listed in Table 10.4.A, Section 10 of the Dangerous Goods Regulations Manual.

Another important factor is the Transport Index (TI), which represents the load's radiation levels, measured at a meter's distance from the load. The TI serves to classify the load according to the Table below and is measured using the following units of measurement:

• mRem/h Mili Rem hour
• mSv/h Mili Sievert hour
• μSv/h Micro Sievert hour

Load Categories
Transport Index	Maximum radiation level on any outer surface point	Category
0*	Less than 5 μSv/h (0,5 mrem/h)	I-White
More than 0 and less than 1	More than 5 μSv/h (0,5 mrem/h) and less than 0,5 mSv/h (50 mrem/h)	II-Yellow
More than 1 and less than 10	More than 0,5 mSv/h (50 mrem/h) and less than 2 mSv/h (200 mrem/h)	III-Yellow
More than 10	More than 2 mSv/h (200 mrem/h) and less than 10 mSv/h (1 000 mrem/h)	III-Yellow **
** When the Transport Index is more than 10 the load must be transported under exclusive use.

Class 8: Corrosives

Corrosive substances are those that, when in contact with live tissues, can cause severe damage through chemical reactions or, in case of leaking or spilling, can damage or destroy other goods or the aircraft (i.e. hydrochloric acid, mercury).

Class 9: Miscellaneous Dangerous Goods

Includes articles and substances that present a danger not covered by other classes:

1. Liquids and solids with penetrating odors, which in case of spillage can cause such discomfort among the flight crew that, can prevent them from carrying out their assigned tasks correctly.
2. Magnetic materials with a magnetic field that can cause erroneous readings of aircraft instruments.
3. Environmentally hazardous materials.
4. Miscellaneous articles such as:
5. • Asbestos.
   • Carbon dioxide (dry ice).
   • Consumer goods.
   • Chemistry and first aid kits.
   • Lifesaving equipment.
   • Internal combustion engines.
   • Vehicles propelled by gas or flammable liquids.
   • Polymer pearls.
   • Battery-propelled equipment.
   • Zinc dithionite.

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