So, what’s going to be coming in TDG in the next year?

Well, let’s start with an Equivalency Certificate for limited quantities.  Members of the Canadian Paint and Coatings Association have an Equivalency Certificate (http://www.tc.gc.ca/tdg/permits/htm/10832-eng.htm) for the use of the new limited quantity mark. If Transport Canada is not going to have this in a very near future amendment, then why don’t they issue the Equivalency Certificate to all shippers?

Amendments 8, 9 & 10 have come into force this year. Amendment 11 was sent to the Minister on October 20 and it deals with correcting errors in Amendment 6. The next step for Amendment 11 is a consultation phase.

Amendment 12, which was reviewed last June, is a large amendment with emphasis on placarding and introduces the overpack. The comment review was completed in June and it may go direct to Gazette II.

Amendment 13 will deal with the standards and Part 5 Means of Containment. This proposal has been at Justice since June and its next stop should be Gazette I.

Amendment Q will be an update of Schedule 1 and 2. Amendment 12 was to take us to the 17th Edition of the UN Recommendations on the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods, so why would a separate amendment be needed for the Schedules? Interesting that Schedule 3 is not listed in this proposal – typo? The next step for this amendment is consultations.

The Surface Inter-modal Security (SIMS) directorate is still in the policy development phase. They have indicated a combined use of voluntary practices and regulations that will be phased in over a reasonable time period. In addition, harmonization with the US will be key, but there will be some unique Canadian situations.

The one thing we do not have are target dates for each of the above.

The Auditor General will be releasing his findings on December 13th on the ERAP programme.

I admit it. I am a hazmat nerd. I’m not sure exactly when I realized it. Maybe it was the first time I recited a section of 49CFR from memory during a class. Maybe it was when I decided to keep a copy of the ERG in my car so I could identify the UN numbers on placarded trucks. Regardless of when it happened, I now embrace my hazmat nerdiness… even my Facebook profile lists my occupation as “Hazmat Nerd”. Obviously, this is a great benefit when I’m on the job. I have a knack for remembering obscure requirements and knowing where to find them in the appropriate regulation. I enjoy hunting down the answer to tough questions or unusual situations. I like having customers who think of me as their go-to source for their questions.

One aspect of being a hazmat nerd is that I am always noticing things that relate to my job, even when I’m not at work (hence the ERG in my glove compartment). There was the time that I was doing some geocaching (my obsession…I mean hobby) in Buffalo. I had parked the car and jumped out to go find a cache. On my way, I had to dodge some large puddles due to a recent downpour. As I approached one of the puddles, I noticed something odd. There was a Flammable Liquid placard floating in it! Most people would have just walked past it. Not the hazmat nerd! I took a closer look…mainly to see if it was one of our placards. Then I took a picture, because who wouldn’t want to see a picture of a placard in a puddle? I continued on my way, trying to figure out what circumstances would result in a placard floating in a puddle in the middle of a sidewalk. I still wonder about that…

 
Another time, I pulled up to a gas station and saw 2 IBC’s of paint sitting alongside the building. Once again, they would have gone unnoticed by most people. I however, took a picture!

 
On one of my many road trips, I made a stop for some fuel for both myself and my car at a truck stop. While walking around to stretch my legs, I came across something I had not seen before…a stop for leaking hazmat vehicles. It made sense that there would be such a thing and I’m wondering why I don’t see them more often in my travels. It’s good to know that drivers do have designated areas where they can go if there is leaking hazmat. Of course I had to take a picture… what kind of hazmat nerd would I be if I didn’t?

 
I always notice placards on trucks when I’m driving. I even notice empty placard holders on trucks, especially when there is a more than just one or two. Imagine my delight when I was driving behind a truck with eleven placard holders on the back of it! I couldn’t wait until we got to a red light so I could take a picture (not surprising by now, I’m sure). By the way, eleven is my current record for number of placard holders on a single side of a vehicle.

 
I could go on with my work related, off-the-job hazmat spotting, but I’ll stop here. I will continue to notice these things and have my camera at the ready to document them. And I am proud to say that I am a hazmat nerd!

Some observations from behind the wheel:

• why do some carriers mount their rear placard holders as a square, instead of the square on point as required by the TDG regs?
• why does Canada use the DANGER placard? Other than the US, no other country has it.
• why is the limited quantity (LQ) mark changing? (see 16th Ed. UN model regs, figure 3.4.1) What was the matter with the UN number in a diamond? From an emergency responder viewpoint, the UN number in the diamond is the common sense way to do it.
• why do transit buses drive to the end of a turn lane and force their way into traffic? Under the Highway Traffic Act (HTA), the bus bay is where the bus stop is – not the end of the turn lane.
• why do transit buses force their way into the adjacent lane? The HTA only requires drivers to yield to buses exiting a bus bay.
• why do two (2) fully loaded trucks drive side by side up an incline?
• why does the driver behind you get upset when you stop for the changing light? Remember—a yellow light does not mean race through the intersection to beat the red light. (see HTA section 144)
• why do construction companies move their heavy equipment on public roads when not in compliance with the HTA for slow moving vehicles?
• why are drivers still using their electronic devices while behind the wheel?
• why don’t people use the parking spaces at a gas station? why do they have to park in front of the door blocking everyone else?
• why is the price of gasoline cheaper in the Maritimes than in the Toronto area?

Why, why, why???

The placarding saga continues. Transport Canada has issued an ALERT to explain (?) the options available when a large means of containment that requires placards is loaded into a large means of transport. So if we have 2 IBC’s (class 8 and class 3) to be shipped, our options are:

Option 1: for each primary class placard and UN number, duplicate on the outside of the truck.

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