Transport Canada beefing up DG regulations

Transport Canada is proposing changes to the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations (TDGR) to improve safety and bring Canadian rules into alignment with international codes.

The proposed amendments to the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations, are aimed at:

• enhancing buffer car requirements;
• strengthening emergency response assistance plan requirements for the transport of agricultural anhydrous ammonia on public roads;
• aligning regulations with other federal rules on transporting dangerous goods;
• introducing new rules to match international codes; and
• referencing and incorporating two new standards.

“Through these proposed changes to the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations we want to strengthen transportation safety in Canada and reduce the risk of incidents involving dangerous goods. Our government’s top priority is always the safety of communities and employees throughout all aspects of transportation operations,” said transport minister Pablo Rodriguez in a statement.

The proposed changes are geared towards addressing ongoing safety concerns, enhancing consistency across Canada, and fostering international partnerships through regulatory alignment.

Buffer cars

The regulations surrounding buffer cars in railway trains are not consistent with US regulations, for example. The US regulations require a minimum of one buffer car between a railway vehicle carrying dangerous goods and an occupied railway vehicle for both unit trains (trains containing the same type of dangerous goods) and mixed commodity freight trains (trains containing both dangerous goods and non-dangerous goods rail cars).

In Canada, unit trains are not required to add a buffer car, whereas the addition of at least one buffer car is required on mixed freight trains unless rail companies believe that the addition of buffer cars would have a negative impact on train dynamics (i.e. train movement along the tracks). This misalignment between the US and Canadian regulations means that train shipments which remain in Canada pose a higher-level safety risk for their crew than those that originate or are destined to the US.

Anhydrous ammonia

The current regulations do not require an emergency response assistance plan (ERAP) for the transport of up to 10,000 litres of anhydrous ammonia (a toxic and corrosive gas used as fertilizer for its high content in nitrogen) in a tank for agricultural purposes.

Current farming practices, however, often involve the use of multi-tank system configurations (i.e. up to four tanks loaded with anhydrous ammonia on a single trailer) which can contain more than 10,000 litres of anhydrous ammonia. This practice endangers public safety and could potentially lead to an accidental release for which there is no ERAP in place.

International codes

Some provisions in the TDGR are not aligned with the latest United Nations Model Regulations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (UN Recommendations) 22nd edition. The lack of harmonization between the TDGR and UN Recommendations creates confusion for Canadian stakeholders as they must contend with multiple sets of requirements for both domestic and international transportation of dangerous goods.

Several amendments designed to bring the TDGR into alignment with the UN Recommendations were developed and pre-published on November 26, 2022. However, not all amendments needed to support harmonization were included.

Given the high volume of amendments needed to support harmonization, and the highly technical nature of the amendments, Transport Canada determined that, for practical purposes, the amendments should be developed and introduced in two separate proposals. As such, some amendments needed to support harmonization with the UN Recommendations have been included in this regulatory proposal.

These changes to the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations will affect the way companies and employees import, offer for transport, handle, or transport dangerous goods within Canada.

Transport Canada continues to encourage a strong transportation system by taking steps to promote a safe and secure transportation of dangerous goods regime.