|
| |
CLASS 1 - EXPLOSIVES
Note: The
following description is not intended to be a definitive technical description of what is
termed a dangerous goods under the New Zealand Standard 5433:1999 - Transport of Dangerous
Goods on Land or The United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods.
Explosives are a special category of dangerous
goods. Also, they are special in that the packaging of the material is an integral part of
the explosive itself. Different packagings containing the same chemical may make for a
different explosive.
Explosions are essentially very fast chemical
reactions which release large quantities of gas. For example a solid is converted to a gas
in a fraction of a second. Some explosive products like detonating cord travel at 6
-8,000 meters per second, so if you were to run a length of detonating cord from
Palmerston North to Wellington theoretically it would only take 30 seconds to travel that
distance.
Explosives include:
- Sporting ammunition
- Blasting charges and detonators
- Military armaments
- Fireworks, Flares and so on.
| There are two main types
of explosives and these are identified by the two types of explosive labels. The first is
characterised by the "exploding bomb" image in the top of the label. The second
only has the division number, 1.4, 1.5 or 1.6. The principal difference between these is
that the latter group is "insensitive" and are extremely difficult to initiate
an explosion in. |
 |
Class 1 is divided into six
divisions:
- 1.1 - Mass explosion hazard.
- 1.2 - Projection hazard but not a mass explosion
hazard.
- 1.3 - Fire hazard and either a minor blast hazard or
a minor projection hazard or both, but not a mass explosion hazard. This division
comprises articles and substances that:
- give rise to considerable radiant heat, or
- burn one after another, producing minor blast and/or
projection effects.
- 1.4 - No significant hazard (only a small hazard) in
the event of ignition or initiation during transport. The effects are largely confined to
the package and no projection of fragments of appreciable size or range is to be expected.
An external fire must not cause practically instantaneous explosion of virtually the
entire contents of the package.
- 1.5 - Very insensitive substances, having a mass
explosion hazard, which are so insensitive that there is very little probability of
initiation or of transition from burning to detonation under normal conditions of
transport. As a minimum requirement they must not explode in the fire test.
- 1.6 - Extremely insensitive articles which do not
have a mass explosion hazard. This division comprises articles which contain only
extremely insensitive detonating substances and which demonstrate a negligible probability
of accidental initiation or propagation.
 |
For safety reasons,
explosives are usually designed to be extremely insensitive. However, an insensitive
explosive requires a means of initiation, usually another explosive. Consequently, for
transportation, explosives must be segregated from their initiators. This is achieved by
further dividing explosives into compatibility groups. |
Types of explosives are identified by a range of
labels:
Explosive Labels
Division 1.1 |
Division 1.2 |
Division 1.3 |
Division 1.4 |
Division 1.4S |
Division 1.5 |
Division 1.6 |
|
|
