Excepted Quantities Exemption Update in TDG Regulations

On December 31, 2014 Transport Canada amended the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations to include an exemption for “Excepted Quantities”.  This article is a summary of the recent update and explains everything you need to know about Excepted Quantities.

What You Need to Know About Excepted Quantities:

Where to find the regulation update?

The regulation update can be found on the Government of Canada website at:

https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/tdg/clear-part1-475.htm#sec1.17.1

What are Excepted Quantities?

They are small quantities of hazardous materials, typically samples, that may be shipped as an exemption to the TDG regulations and just be marked with and Excepted Quantities Mark.   Multiple small quantities in an inner means of containment may ship together in a larger outer means of containment.

How do I know how much I can ship as an Excepted Quantity?

Step 1:  Look at column 6(b) of your Schedule 1 table for the dangerous good(s) you want to ship.  It will have an alpha numeric code E0, E1, E2, E3, E4, E5.

Step 2:  Check the Excepted quantities table:

Step 3:  Pack your dangerous goods in quantities to meet the specifications in the table

How do I label the goods?

The Excepted Quantities must be labelled with the following label:

In addition, below the stylized “E” the primary class of the dangerous good must be listed as well as, followed by the name of the consignor or consignee.

Also, if your dangerous goods are in an “overpack” you must add the word “overpack” and the excepted quantities mark, unless the means of containment are clearly visible through the overpack.

What do I put on my shipping documents for Excepted Quantities?

The regulations say that if you are shipping in excepted quantities the document must include the words “dangerous goods in excepted quantities”

What’s exempted from Excepted Quantities?

Very, very small quantities are exempted from the Excepted Quantities.  The regulations say if it is less than 1g or 1 mL for liquids and gases and the net quantity of the outer container is less than or equal to 100g or 100mL.

What do I do if I need help shipping Dangerous Goods?

Call DSN Chemical Transportation.  DSN has decades of experience shipping hazardous materials over the road in dry van or bulk tank truck.  We are the experts, give us a call and we’ll help get your shipment moving; On-time and On-budget!