New Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulation (TDGR) requirements are no longer quite consistent with the federal/provincial waste manifest form. This is challenging for shippers and waste managers.
One problem is the change in sequence of required items. TDGR s. 3.5 requires the sequence to be:
UN No., Shipping Name, Class, Packing Group
In order to qualify as a TDG shipping document, the information must be provided in this order. However, the current Waste Manifest layout (online & paper) uses a different order:
Prov. Code, Shipping Name, Class, UN No., Packing Group, Quantity Shipped, Units, Packaging (No./Code), Physical State
More importantly, there is no room on the manifest for the new consignor certification statement and signature, required by TDGR s. 3.6.1, which came into force July 15, 2015.
The Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change has reportedly told industry that “the MOECC is not planning on changing the manifests any time soon.” Apparently, one firm was told to just use an arrow, but then was told not to, because marking up a manifest is not permitted, and that also does not take provide space for the new certification statement. Some companies are thinking of putting a label on Copy 4; others are driving around with multiple copies of the manifest, all of which are incorrectly designed for the new changes, and then marking some of the copies up.
Some MOECC officers discourage companies from marking up a manifest, based on General – Waste Management R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 347 s. 19, which also requires shippers from complying with TDGR:
Section 19
(1) No generator shall permit subject waste to pass from the generator’s control or to leave the waste generation facility except, (a) by transfer of the subject waste to a waste transportation system operating under a that is subject to an environmental compliance approval and where the generator has completed a manifest in respect of the waste in accordance with the Manual and this Regulation...
(2) No generator shall transfer subject waste to a waste transportation system unless the subject waste is so packaged or marked that it meets the transport requirements of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act (Canada).
Transport Canada suggests
“We know that the Movement Document/Manifest doesn’t meet the requirements of section 3.5 in regard with the sequence of the description of the dangerous goods.
1st option: The use of a Post-it filled with the information listed in the order required by section 3.5 of the TDG Regulations is deemed acceptable by Transport Canada. This post-it has to be applied on the manifest in a way to cover the description of the dangerous goods displayed as required on the Movement Document/Manifest. As the Post-it can be removed, the stakeholders can remove it before sending the Movement Document/Manifest to the appropriate authorities. Also, the TDG regulation doesn’t specifically mention that the required information must fit on one page, therefore, the use of a post-it, as a temporary measure, is acceptable.
2nd option: Another option would be to add another page to your manifest with the description of the dangerous goods displayed as required by the section 3.5. Under the TDG Regulations, a shipping document can have several pages as long as all the information required under sections 3.5; 3.6 and 3.6.1 is presented.”
Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations
SOR/2001-286 (as last amended by SOR/2014-306)
Section 3.5 Information on a Shipping Document
3.5 (1) The following information must be included on a shipping document:
(a) the name and address of the place of business in Canada of the consignor;
(b) the date the shipping document or an electronic copy of it was prepared or was first given to a carrier;
(c) the description of each of the dangerous goods, in the following order:
(i) the UN number,
(ii) the shipping name and, immediately after the shipping name unless it is already part of it,
(A) for dangerous goods that are subject to special provision 16, the technical name, in parentheses, of at least one of the most dangerous substances that predominantly contributes to the hazard or hazards posed by the dangerous goods, and
(B) for a liquefied petroleum gas that has not been odourized, the words “Not Odourized” or “Not Odourized” or “Sans odourisant”,
(iii) the primary class, which may be shown as a number only or under the heading “Class” or “Classe” or following the word “Class” or “Classe”,
(iv) for dangerous goods with a primary class of Class 1, Explosives, the compatibility group letter following the primary class,
(v) the subsidiary class or classes, in parentheses, which may be shown as a number only or under the heading “subsidiary class” or “classe subsidiaire” or following the words “subsidiary class” or “classe subsidiaire”, except that, for transport by aircraft or by ship, the subsidiary class or classes may be shown after the information required by this paragraph,
(vi) the packing group roman numeral, which may be shown under the heading “PG” or “GE” or following the letters “PG” or “GE” or following the words “Packing Group” or “Groupe d’emballage”, and
(vii) for dangerous goods that are subject to special provision 23, the words “toxic by inhalation” or “toxic – inhalation hazard” or “toxique par inhalation” or “toxicitépar inhalation”;
Section 3.6.1 Consignor’s Certification
3.6.1. (1) Beginning on July 15, 2015, a shipping document must include, after the information required under section 3.5, one of the following certifications:
(a) “I hereby declare that the contents of this consignment are fully and accurately described above by the proper shipping name, are properly classified and packaged, have dangerous goods safety marks properly affixed or displayed on them, and are in all respects in proper condition for transport according to the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations.”;
(b) the certification set out in section 172.204 of 49 CFR;
(c) the certification set out in section 5.4.1.6 of the ICAO Technical Instructions;
(d) the certification set out in section 5.4.1.6 of the IMDG Code; or
(e) the certification set out in section 5.4.1.6 of the UN Recommendations.
(2) The certification must be made by an individual who is the consignor or by an individual acting on behalf of the consignor and must set out that individual’s name… [SOR/2014-152, s. 15]