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Geography and the Dangerous Goods Regulations

Did you know that Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark? So, you now ask yourself; what does this geography lesson have to do with Dangerous Goods. 

Let me explain.

When shipping Dangerous Goods via air, you need to use the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations. Within those regulations are Operator and State Variations. State variations are actually country variations. Each State submits its specific variations to IATA. These are generally things like not accepting certain types of Dangerous Goods or wanting all Dangerous Goods paperwork to be in English.

Back to Geography. What if you looked to see if Greenland had any State Variations? You look and do not find Greenland listed, so therefore you would assume that if it were not listed, there would be no variations. You would, however, be wrong. In fact, you would have to know that Greenland was part of Denmark then apply the Denmark variations as needed.

As you would imagine, not everyone is up-to-date on their geography, so in the 63rd edition of the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations, this was clarified. Here is the list of the new entries and their respective regions.

Now you know. ICC can help with all of your Dangerous Goods needs, and maybe a bit of geography, too 😉.

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Karrie Ishmael, CDGP

Karrie Ishmael has been with ICC since 1988. She has contributed to ICC's growth in various capacities, including customer service, sales, and marketing. In her current role as ICC's Senior Regulatory Expert and SDS author, Karrie conducts hazardous materials training classes in 49 CFR, IATA, IMDG, TDG along with OSHA and WHMIS hazard communication courses. When not training, she writes safety data sheets for customers to comply with North American and European requirements. She actively participates in many associations, including DGAC, COSTHA and is the former chair of SCHC’s OSHA Alliance Committee.