IATA

Background

The UK Civil Aviation Authority requires that Staff responsible for the shipment and packing of con-signments of dangerous goods for air transport be successfully trained at a Course approved by them, and be retrained every two years thereafter.

These approved Courses give initial and refresher training to such Staff, to verify that a dangerous goods shipment has been properly prepared, in accordance with the International Air Transport
Association (IATA) Dangerous Goods Regulations.

It should be noted however that the Courses do not cover radioactive material.

Course Content

The Initial Course takes three days, and the Refresher takes two days. They both cover the main components of the IATA Regulations—

• Background to the Regulations
  
• Section 1—Applicability
  
• Section 2—Limitations
  
• Section 3—Classification
  
• Section 4—Identification
  
• Section 5—Packing Section 6—Packaging specifications and performance tests
  
• Section 7—Marking and labelling
  
• Section 8—Documentation
  
• Section 9—Handling (Acceptance only)

The study involves a thorough understanding of the nature of dangerous goods generally, and how they are classified, and identified under the United Nations system. Then how the packaging is chosen for the particular material, using UN specification packaging in almost every case, and how the packages are marked and labelled. Finally, how the consignment must be accompanied by a Shippers Declaration which describes the dangerous goods, and certifies that they have been prepared in exact accordance with the IATA Regulations.

The study is based mostly on the text of the Regulations themselves. Each Student must therefore have a copy of the current Regulations to work from—they are re-issued each year—either bringing their own copy to the Course, or by purchasing a copy from Chemfreight at cost.

There are comprehensive written exercises at the end of each Section. However, the Course is intensive, and Students must be prepared to undertake additional revision work overnight.

The Courses end with a final examination, at which Students must achieve a satisfactory pass mark. Examination results will be relayed to Students within 48 hours from the end of the Courses.