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Hazmat Shipping

Compliance steps, UN classification, and shipping surcharges for hazardous materials.

How to use this tool

See what it takes to ship a dangerous good: which UN hazard class it falls under, the packing and paperwork involved, and how much it adds to freight cost. A planning aid before you book a shipment.

What to enter

  • UN hazard class: pick the class for your material (flammable liquid, corrosive, oxidiser…). Its UN number and class are on the SDS, Section 14.

Reading the result

You get a shipping profile: typical example substances, the packing group (I = high danger → III = low), and a surcharge/route note flagging where it's expensive or forbidden, air is the strictest mode. A six-step compliance checklist walks through classify → pack → mark/label → declare → check mode rules → trained sign-off.

Worked example

Class 3, Flammable liquids (acetone, ethanol, toluene) shows packing group II–III and a moderate surcharge: routine by road, limited quantity only by air.

Shipping Profile

Packing group runs I (high danger) to III (low); the surcharge/route line flags where shipping is costly or outright forbidden, with air the strictest mode. The numbered checklist is the compliance path, this is a planning aid, not a substitute for a trained dangerous-goods signer.

About hazmat shipping

Dangerous goods move under the UN model regulations, implemented as ADR (road, EU), IATA DGR (air) and IMDG (sea). Each substance has a UN number, hazard class, and packing group (I = high, II = medium, III = low danger). Air transport is the most restrictive and carries the highest surcharge; many oxidisers and class-1/6 materials are forbidden by post.

Sources

  • UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods; ADR 2023; IATA DGR.