What Are Hazardous Goods & Things that You Must Know?

Storing and transportation of goods is one of the most important responsibilities. Proper storage and transportation will ensure safety and also prevent serious consequences. Handling goods is a very complex task, especially for the businesses that deal with hazardous materials or goods.

Hazardous goods must be stored and transported very carefully by complying to all the regulations. The business must understand regulations and should take the responsibility of storing and transportation. Any minor mistake in the handling of such goods can lead to many serious consequences.

Hazardous Goods:

There are certain characteristics that make a material or goods hazardous. Below are the properties that every hazardous substance possesses.

  • Highly inflammable - Substances will catch fire very quickly.
  • Reactive - Hazardous substances are highly reactive.
  • Toxic – Hazardous materials are generally toxic and sometimes poisonous. They can affect health and sometimes lead to death.
  • Corrosive – Some hazardous chemicals are corrosive

Internationally, hazardous materials are classified into various types. Like:

  • Gases
  • Explosives
  • Flammable Liquids
  • Flammable Solidss
  • Radioactive Substances
  • Corrosive Substances (Acids, Alkalies, Solvens etc)
  • Infectious, carcinogenic and other Toxic Substances
  • Oxidizing or Reducing Agents
  • Miscellaneous other Dangerous Goods that can damage environment and create Health Hazards

Things That You Must Know for Better Handling of Hazardous Goods

If you are into the business of manufacturing and supplying of goods which are hazardous, then you must plan everything properly. There are certain standard procedures that your businesses must comply with for safer storage and transportation.

Handle Separately

While handling the hazardous substances, avoid mixing them with other goods. Hazardous goods should not be stored and transported together with other goods. Mixing hazardous goods with other types of goods can create accidents like explosions, contaminations of other materials, corrosion, etc. Keeping this type of material separately while storing and transporting will prevent risk.

Keep a Record and Handle Safely-Smoothly

Keeping a record of hazardous material when they are stored in the warehouses or during transportation will help a lot. Because it will be very easy for you to move the goods from one place to another place whenever required. Maintain a separate sheet or any software to maintain the data hazardous goods.

While transporting hazardous goods, make sure that the containers used are safe and reliable. This will help to avoid damage and prevent accidents during the transportation. Also, while loading and unloading the goods into the containers, follow standard procedures.

Pack and Mark the Hazardous Goods Properly

Packing and labeling play a crucial role while the storage and transportation of goods. During transportation or storing in the warehouses, hazardous substances must be appropriately packed and labeled to prevent health and safety problems.

Some of the things that you must mark and label on the hazardous goods are like;

  • Details of the Manufacturer
  • Name of the Chemicals or substance that is packed
  • Indication of the danger level – Warning, Caution, or Danger
  • Indication of Physical Hazardous of the substance like flammable, explosive, corrosive, etc. (Material Safety Data Sheet-MSDS)

Maintain a Specialized Team to Tackle Emergency Tasks

Having a specialist to tackle emergency situations is very helpful. Because cannot fully assure the safety of the hazardous substances, even though all the proper precautions have been taken. A team, which is experienced and specialized in handling hazardous substances, helps to prevent serious disasters.

The team will help you in the storage unit, as well as, during the transportation. Having a team of specialized people ensures the safety of the hazardous goods all the time.

Therefore, these are some of the top precautionary measures that every business that deals with hazardous substances must follow. Proper team handling such goods and advanced technology can ensure better safety. Many large industries hire professionals to handle storage and transportation of hazardous goods and some industries outsource this task to global logistics companies.

Incorporating the required technology, constructing a separate storage space, and hiring professionals to manage everything is a very costly process. You have to invest a lot of money initially and for small businesses it is difficult. So, outsourcing this task to third party logistics and international freight forwarders is the best option. Nowadays there are many third party logistics companies available in the market, you can choose the best one according to your requirements.

IAP Logistics is one of the leading and experienced logistics companies in Jeddah. We have years of experience in providing logistics and freight forwarding services to many small, medium, and large businesses. Our services include custom bonded warehouse service, freight forwarding services, LCL and FCL services, transportation and distribution, etc.

We have the best technology, and everyone at IAP logistics is highly experienced and skilled. We provide the best logistics services at the best prices globally. You can contact me for more information about our services.