Dangerous goods

What are dangerous goods?

Dangerous goods is a collective term for substances and objects that, due to their chemical or physical properties, may cause injury to life or health or damage to the environment or property when being transported. Dangerous goods may possess explosive, combustible, toxic, radioactive or corrosive capabilities, and could be chemicals, gas or samples that could transmit infection.

The majority of the dangerous goods transports out of LiU and Region Östergötland are gas and chemical waste products. Also common are dangerous goods sent by air, for example biological samples on dry ice.

Routines and regulations

Recipients of dangerous goods

Important to keep in mind for ALL who receive dangerous goods that the goods, eg gas bottles, chemicals, etc, are quickly taken care of and transported into buildings and further into locked premises (laboratory, workshop, chemical storage or equivalent) to avoid goods being left standing on loading docks and transhipment sites.

Dispatchers of dangerous goods

  • Dispatchers of dangerous goods must have sufficient knowledge of the applicable requirements and regulations!
  • For those who are going to send dangerous goods (other than harmless material on dry ice), it is required that the sender has undergone dangerous goods training to have sufficient knowledge of how the goods should be packaged, classified and labelled. At LiU, it is possible to attend dangerous goods training through the safety advisor, see below.
  • In addition to correct packaging based on the classification of the goods and labeling with dangerous goods labels, a dangerous goods declaration and transport documentation are also required. At LiU, there are two different carriers to choose from depending on the type of goods in question, this applies to all campuses, see routine To send dangerous goods.
  • Safety advisors at LiU or Region Östergötland can also provide help regarding the requirements for various dangerous goods transport.

Chemcial waste that also is dangerous goods

Handling of hazardous waste at LiU (also University Hospital Campus) and transport of biological samples, visit the page about waste. 

Specific regulation for especially sensitive products

Especially sensitive products (“strategiskt känsliga producer”) are handled in several parts of LiU. To prevent these products from falling into the wrong hands or being used incorrectly, the University shall actively work with non-proliferation and export control.

Export control is a control to prevent especially sensitive products, through export or provision to another state, from falling into the wrong hands or being used improperly. The control requirements apply to munitions and dual-use items (“produkter med dubbla användningsområden, PDA”) for example certain chemicals, technical equipment such as heat exchangers, pumps and valves, manuals and software or equipment for information security.

Prior to transport, the dispatcher therefore needs to determine whether the shipment/goods to be transported may constitute an especially sensitive product and whether an export permit is required. A document "Basis for shipments" (”Underlag för försändelser” in Swedish) needs to be filled out before transport, see the links about Export control in the column to the right. The documentation must be saved together with other transport documents.

If the product or technology is subject to export control, it is required either to apply for an export permit or to notify the authority afterwards if a general export permit has been used. An application for an export permit is made to the Inspectorate for Strategic Products or to the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority, depending on the product or technology to be exported, transferred, conveyed or transited.

For more information and links to document “Basis for shipments” and other authorities, see link to Liunet.

Routines Region Östergötland

Instructions for management of dangerous goods and dangerous waste for employees at Region Östergötland can be found on the Region Östergötland intranet, the Safety Manual.

Safety Adviser

Operations such as transporting, loading, unloading or transferring dangerous goods to someone else for transport must be carried out with the help of one or several safety advisers.

The task of these safety advisers is to, as a representative of operational management responsibility, ensure that dangerous goods are dispatched and transported under the best possible safety conditions and that damage or injury in connection with these transports is prevented. In addition, safety advisers bear special responsibility for accident reporting and must establish an annual report on operations concerning dangerous goods.

  • The safety adviser for LiU is DGM Sverige AB.
  • The safety adviser for Region Östergötland is Tekniska verken i Linköping AB.

Dangerous goods training at LiU

At LiU, according to an agreement with security advisor DGM Sverige AB, there is an opportunity to attend a digital dangerous goods training. More information about training and prices can be found in the information about the agreement Security advisory service for dangerous goods (available in Swedish; Säkerhetsrådgivartjänst för farligt gods ) in LiU's agreement database TendSign. Contact the coordinator Laboratory safety LiU with questions.

To send dangerous goods

Contracted carriers of transports at LiU, all campuses

At LiU, there are two different carriers to choose from depending on the type of goods in question, this applies to all campuses.

Instructions for management of dangerous goods and dangerous waste for employees at Region Östergötland can be found on the Region Östergötland intranet.

DHL

  • Can be used for express deliveries of documents, parcels and also for transport of biological material by refrigerator or freezer transport or dry ice shipment, but without a guaranteed cold chain.
  • Biological material that may be transported by DHL are for example material from humans or animals where there is minimal risk of infection.
  • Please note that transport with dry ice to some extent involves a dangerous goods transport with special rules and requirements for air transport. When using DHL as carrier, the dispatcher ensures access to dry-ice and is responsible for packing goods according to regulations.
  • Please note that additional legislation may apply, for example, if the goods are so-called especially sensitive products.
  • Transport documents for dangerous goods transport must be kept for at least 3 months, as required by the dangerous goods legislation.

Order transport

Order transport via DHL's booking portal. To get login information or if you have any questions, please contact Post and transport services at Facilities Support, LiU by phone +46 13-284080 or e-mail: post.husservice@liu.se

YSDS, Your special delivery service

  • Can be used for the transport of dangerous goods, transports where special requirements are imposed or special transports, e.g.:
    • Scientific samples classified as dangerous goods (e.g. samples containing infectious agents, radioactive or toxic substances or materials)
    • Chemical products or mixtures with hazardous properties for example flammable, toxic or corrosive
    • Transports with different temperature requirements e.g. in ambient temperature, chilled transport or on dry-ice or in liquid nitrogen.
    • Qualitative transport e.g. where unbroken cold chain is required with replenishment of refrigerant (e.g. dry-ice or liquid nitrogen)
    • Special deliveries, transports with special requirements e.g. particularly bulky goods or complex destinations
  • Please note that additional legislation may apply, for example, if the goods are so-called especially sensitive products.
  • YSDS shall, if necessary, assist the dispatcher with packing, shipping documents, customs documents and other documents required for the transport.
  • Transport documents for dangerous goods transport must be kept for at least 3 months, as required by the dangerous goods legislation.

Order transport

Use the order form below as a basis. Contact YSDS by phone +46 10-106 00 50 or e-mail: order.swe@ysds.com (employees with LiU e-mail addresses only may order transport).

Orderform dangerous goods transport, YSDS

Exemption for biological samples without infectious agents and without dry ice

Biological samples consisting of patient samples taken from humans and animals, where there is minimal likelihood of infectious agents, are not covered by the hazardous goods rules if they are packed without dry ice (carbon dioxide). Such samples can then be packaged and labelled according to the instructions below and then classified as "exempt medical sample":

Packaging should consist of three parts

  1. tight primary vessel. If several fragile primary vessels are placed in a secondary packaging, they must either be wrapped separately or separated from each other so that contact does not occur. For liquids, absorbent materials with sufficient capacity to absorb the entire contents should be placed between primary vessels and secondary packaging.
  2. a dense secondary package, as well
  3. an outer package of sufficient strength with respect to its volume, weight and intended use, at least one side having at least 100 mm x 100 mm dimensions.

NOTE! No dry ice is allowed!

Labelling

The packaging must be labelled with the text "EXEMPTED MEDICAL TEST" or in the case of air transport "EXAMPLE HUMAN (or ANIMAL) SPECIMEN".

Documentation

When transporting exempted medical examinations, cargo declaration or Shippers Declaration is not required. Exceptional medical examination can be sent by regular mail provided the sample is packed as above and is correctly labelled.

Read more in the instruction "Pack the sample correct" (in Swedish) from the Public Health Agency of Sweden.