Consignment documentation, marking, labelling and placarding
The transport document
The dangerous goods information is entered in the CIM consignment note. It must show the UN number preceded by UN, the proper shipping name, the class (and compatibility group for Class 1), the classification code where required, the packing group, the number and kind of packages, the total quantity, the name and address of consignor and consignee, and the special provision numbers that apply. Tank entries need the tank identification, and empty uncleaned tanks are declared as such. The document must travel with the goods - a correctly completed note left in the office is not a compliant consignment.
Responsibility allocation
Chapter 1.4 splits the duties: the consignor ensures the information and the marking/labelling, the loader checks the wagon and the visible condition of the packages, the carrier preserves the markings during carriage.
Marking and labelling
Packages bear the UN number and proper shipping name and the prescribed labels for the primary and any subsidiary hazard, with orientation arrows where the instruction requires them. Overpacks have their own marking rule.
Wagons, containers and placards
Wagons, containers and tank-wagons display the enlarged labels (placards) on both sides and, for tank-wagons and tank-containers, orange plates showing the UN number of the contents. Placards and orange plates are the only information rescue services have at a distance: a wagon whose placards are burnt, dirty or missing in a derailment is an unidentifiable hazard.
Worked example
A consignment note reads "UN 1830, sulphuric acid, 8, II, 4 tank-wagons". The classification code (C1) and the tank-wagon identification numbers are missing, and the wagons carry one placard each instead of two. Three findings, all consignment-procedure defects, all on the consignor's side of the 1.4 boundary.
Traps
Forgetting the class or the packing group; quoting the trade name only; treating placarding as the loader's sole problem; forgetting the second placard or the orange plates; no document in the train.