Many companies need bespoke packaging solutions to deal with their needs, when standard boxes or parcels wrapped up with tape and filled with bubble wrap or shredded paper won’t do the job. Sometimes this is because the items being transported are of unusual dimensions, but often it is due to the special characteristics of the contents.

Great care must always be paid when moving goods around, as some may be fragile and those that are particularly vulnerable may need extra protection. But when the materials or chemicals contained within are hazardous, the need to take extra precautions rises to a whole new level.

Naturally enough, such movements are usually going to be made on a business-to-business basis, involving firms or public bodies with the expertise and, where required, licensing to handle certain substances.

What Kinds Of Substances Are Classed As Dangerous?

In some extreme cases, substances will be carried in specialised transport in bulk quantities, like the freight containers used to carry nuclear fuel, which have been tested to show they could withstand any rail accident - even a train being crashed head-on into them. 

However, most substances are not transported like this and they may be moved by road, rail, air, or ship.

Examples of hazardous substances may include dangerous acids, inflammable chemicals, low-level radioactive material such as waste from hospital radiography use, items that may be highly toxic, environmentally polluting, or damage the ozone layer, such as CFCs (which used to be common in aerosols and fridges before a global ban).

These may be transported from one site to another for disposal, reprocessing, or safe disposal. Once on-site, they can be dealt with by trained experts wearing all the appropriate clothing and equipment. But while in transit, there is always some potential risk.

Labelling And Packaging Required By Law

Packaging for such substances must have a range of qualities suited to ensuring any danger is minimised. This begins with the labelling on the outside of the packaging.

There is a wide array of internationally recognised hazard pictograms that should be displayed to indicate if a substance or item is dangerous. These can indicate if something is toxic, radioactive, inflammable, corrosive, dangerous to the ozone layer, explosive, or poses some other hazard.

These are essential labels because it means anyone handling such packaging can tell straight away that danger exists, what the hazard is, and take appropriate precautions when handling the item, including the equipment and protecting clothing worn.

Labelling alone is not enough, of course. The substances within must not leak out, emit radiation, or be exposed to anything that could cause a serious chemical reaction that might include a fire or explosion.

Further HSE guidance outlines what is required. The three key points are that packaging should prevent the chemical from escaping, that it should not be “adversely affected” by the chemical and that it will withstand normal handling.

Some of the guidance on packaging relates to items not in transit but for everyday consumer use that may be kept in the home, for which the key provision is ensuring they are kept secure from children by having child-resistant closures or fastenings. However, some of these regulations will still be specific to items in transit that pose a threat to any person.

Using The Right Materials

Indeed, considerations such as the use of packaging that will not be “adversely affected” by the contents are very important. Many of the substances that can be used in packaging may not withstand exposure to some substances.

For instance, polystyrene is commonly used to protect fragile items and hold things in place, but it would be very unsuitable for acidic substances. Many chemicals (such as acetone) will melt it easily. Acetone is found in common products like nail polish remover and varnish.

Stronger acids will melt through other substances or greatly weaken them, to the point where they may become fragile or no longer able to prevent the emission of dangerous fluids or gases.

What all this shows is that ordinary packaging just will not do when your firm wants to transport hazardous chemicals from A to B. The legal guidance is clear and what is provided by the HSE concerning transport within the UK is supplemented by international regulations concerning transportation abroad by sea or air.

This is why you need to ensure you are relying on the packaging experts to provide just what you need. This will ensure the items themselves can get from A to B securely, all who handle them do so safely and your firm is not exposed either to reputational damage or legal action as a consequence of failure to meet your obligations as set out by the HSE and others.