Pacific Air Cargo loves to help educate our customers and something we get asked about a lot is hazardous substances and dangerous goods. On this page we will explain briefly what these are, how to identify them and what you as our customer would need to do to help us get your freight where it needs to go safely!

What are dangerous goods and hazardous substances?

Dangerous goods and Hazardous Substances are substances that pose potential health effects and therefore they are classified based on whether they are acute or chronic health effects. They can have immediate physical or chemical affects such as explosions, fires, serious injury, death or even large-scale damage.

These substances are corrosive, flammable, combustible, explosive, oxidizing or water-reactive or have other hazardous properties.

A lot of everyday products we use are Dangerous Goods and we may not even realise! For example, lithium batteries which are used in cars, toys, watches, cameras, computers and many more items are a DG.

Another commonly used product that people do not know is a DG item is anything with ethyl acetate a product commonly used in nail polishes.

So how do you know if an item is a DG or hazardous substance?

A dangerous good or hazardous substance will have a diamond sticker on them that will advise of the class information and will generally come with a Material Safety Data Sheet.

A MSDS gives you detailed information within its sections about the specific substance and will contain more information than the identifying sticker.

The MSDS will identify the risks and safety, composition, safety and first aid measures, handling and storage, exposure, and protection details, and much more! All MSDS’ will contain a Transportation Information section which will advise on how a product can be transported, this is always noted as Section 14 in the MSDS.

In Section 14 you will find the details we will need to be able to correctly identify, store and transport your DG or HS. This is where you will find the products UN ID; a four-digit number used to identify it, the Proper Shipping Name of the product, the Class of the good and the packing group.

The Class of the good is used to identify what we can store that substance with and what may pose as a potential risk if stored incorrectly.

What are some common Hazardous Substances or Dangerous Goods?

Common items are:

• Hair spray

• Nail polish

• Perfume

• Acetone

• Paints

• Gasoline

• Cigarette lighters

• Matches

• Hair dye

• Batteries

What do you need to do if you believe you have anything that may fall under these categories?

Let us know as soon as you can if you suspect or are unsure that your item may be hazardous! Then we can direct you in where to look or what forms to fill out should they be.

Also make sure you know the details of the goods once you have identified that it is hazardous. If you are able to get a copy of the MSDS do so and this will help you fill out any forms you may need.

Then be sure to add a description of what the goods are, we require an inventory list for all items over 12 months old and commercial invoices for all items under 12 months – this will help you describe the product, but should it be an older or second-hand item a simple description such as: Second-hand Samsung S10 Mobile with battery, should suffice!

Lastly, make sure when you are dropping your freight off or having our truck pick it up you have all the relevant paperwork and have identified and advised the hazardous items. We can then put the proper freight identification on for its transport.

It is important for us to know about your DGs or Hazardous Substances as soon as possible so we can determine if we can send them or not.  

And just remember:

Our Priority Is You!