BADGP News Blog

Limited Quantities Training for Drivers

1. We are aware that some misleading information by various companies is being presented as a ‘new’ training compliance need following the closing of the training gap that existed between ADR 1.3, Training Requirements, ADR 3.4, Limited Quantities and ADR 8.2.3, Training of other personnel involved in the carriage of dangerous goods. This requirement has been clarified in ADR 2025.
   
   
2. The requirement for all employees of a company (undertaking) to receive training in both general awareness and function specific commensurate with the roles that they perform for that undertaking is not a new thing - this includes drivers who do not hold the ADR training certificate, loaders, unloaders, fillers etc.
   
   
3. It has come to our attention that some companies (undertakings) who employ drivers transporting dangerous goods below the ADR threshold values, or as Limited or Excepted Quantities, fail to provide them with the requisite knowledge to be able to deal with dangerous goods.
   
   
4. The recent tightening up of the statements in ADR, as quoted in paragraph 1 above, requires all companies to provide dangerous goods awareness and functional specific training which should include the subjects of Limited Quantities. Such training has to be recorded with suitable training records that must be kept for 6 years. All consignors, carriers and 3rd parties that engage driving services should, as part of their due diligence checks, confirm that any driver engaged with the transport of dangerous goods offered as Limited Quantities or at quantities below the ADR transport category thresholds, have received the required general and function specific training as detailed at ADR 1.3.
   
   
5. As far as we are aware there is no specific Limited Quantities training qualification or approved training body certificate that will prove that a person has reached a required level of knowledge and skill and that the inaccurate information that is currently being presented as fact, is misinformed.
   
   
6. Dangerous Goods training in both the awareness and function specific formats have always been a legal requirement under ADR within the UK. The recent misinformed call to alert non-compliant undertakings of a rule change, that has always been in existence, is further evidence that there are still a lot of people within the DG transport realm that have either received poor or no dangerous goods awareness or function specific training.
   
   
7. BADGP doesn’t conduct or endorse any dangerous goods training - but if we did, we would make sure that we got our facts right first.

BADGP Committee

We have now published the June 2025 edition of our Newsletter. For more details, please visit: BADGP Newsletters.

This edition includes the following articles:

NATIONAL DANGEROUS GOODS AWARENESS DAY 2025
This year's National Dangerous Goods Awareness Day is on the 10th July 2025. The theme this year is the role of the DGSA and DG competent person within companies that consign or carry dangerous goods in the UK, whether by road, sea, rail or air.

THE “VOLUNTARY” APPLICATION OF SEGREGATION CODES AND GROUPS WITHIN IMDG
BADGP Committee member Oliver Fairbrother takes readers who are new to the IMDG Code through the tricky Segregation codes especially where the product’s hazardous are not clearly identified.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT SECURING YOUR GOODS PROPERLY?
BADGP member Ian Hancock and cargo securing specialist for Cordstrap UK shares some important information on cargo securing for all those that have to send freight (DG or otherwise) in a container by sea.

SHIPPING CHARCOAL UNDER IMDG AMENDMENT 42-24: WHAT OPERATORS NEED TO KNOW
BADGP member Amit Kumar discusses the transport of charcoal by sea, the hidden dangers and what you need to know.

WE'VE BEEN DOING IT THIS WAY FOR YEARS, AND NOTHING BAD HAS HAPPENED YET!
BADGP Committee member Kevin Dougherty discusses the importance of using UN certified packaging and following proper assembly procedures to ensure that businesses can protect their employees, customers and the environment, ensuring that nothing bad ever does happen.

THE ROLE OF PH VALUES IN DG SHIPPING
BADGP committee member Oliver Fairbrother, recounts an important lesson to apply when dealing with Class 8 consignments for IMDG journeys.

EXCEPTED QUANTITIES: MISUNDERSTOOD OR SIMPLY SMART?
BADGP Committee member Dawn Kenyon explains more about Excepted Quantities and discusses some of the common myths and pitfalls.

CHEMICAL SPILLAGE INCIDENTS RESULT IN FINES
BADGP Committee member Dan Lee reviews and paraphrases a recent news article that originates from a related dangerous goods incident that resulted in a prosecution and hefty fines for the company involved.

UNSEAWORTHINESS AND FIRE SAFETY FAILURES IN DG HANDLING: LESSONS FROM PAPERA V HYUNDAI (2002)
BADGP member Amit Kumar provides a case study of the fire aboard the Eurasian Dream, highlighting the fire safety lapses, lack of due diligence, and the consequences of poor training and supervision.

COMPETENT AUTHORITY APPROVAL - WHAT THEY DON’T TELL YOU IN ADR/IMDG
BADGP Committee Dan Lee relates the process and learning experience for gaining a Competent Authority Approval.

THE NEW ORANGE
While we are still getting used to the 2025 regulatory texts, work is moving fast towards the next round of updates. Peter Mackay, former editor of HCB and now consulting editor at Enhesa, looks at some significant changes in the offing.

SDS (SAFETY DATA SHEET) SAVOUR OR SINNER! 
BADGP are regularly tasked to assist in resolving incidents where a DG professional has scratched their head and has been unable to resolve a situation within their remit. Dan Lee writes up such an incident that initiated on the BADGP Committee’s WhatsApp account and which later went to e-mail exchange.

CASE CRACKER
BADGP Committee member Bill Atkinson discusses the shipping of Christmas crackers and if they are classed as dangerous goods.

YOU TUBE CHANNEL – BADGP
A reminder to all readers that BADGP have their own You tube channel which has three of the films that were used on the National Dangerous Goods Awareness Day in 2024. Please subscribe to the BADGP channel!

BADGP MEMBERSHIP FEE
As announced at this year’s Annual General Meeting the cost of annual membership for BADGP will rise £5 from its current rate of £85 to its new rate of £90 effective from the 1st January 2026. This article provides some of the reasoning behind the decision to increase the membership fee.

BADGP NEWS
A round up of recent news items from within the dangerous goods world.

WHO ARE YOU?
BADGP are pleased to introduce you to some of the well-known ‘names’ in the industry, while they share a little information about themselves and their lives in dangerous goods. This month we introduce Oliver Fairbrother.

BADGP WEBINARS & EVENTS
Information regarding our upcoming events.

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Details of upcoming events from our Partner Organisation CHCS.

IMO have published their most recent Current Awareness Bulletin (CAB - March 2025). This is full of information for those that dabble in the Dangerous Goods by Sea world and contains a list of maritime incidents where the North Sea collision incident features quite heavily. BADGP members can sign up to receive the CABs when they are published - we get them via the ICHCA emails and as the IMO are happy for their CAB’s to be shared we thought this would be an ideal document to enlighten you to the world of the IMO. Access the document here.

BADGP is pleased to announce a face-to-face seminar on September 9th with the subject of Shipping Lithium Batteries. The seminar will be held in the Stratford Suite, Stratford Manor Hotel, Warwick Road, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 0PY.

This seminar will host a wide range of exhibitors offering products that assist with the transportation and disposal of lithium cells and batteries. We are also assembling an exciting and varied lineup of speakers who will address some lesser-known aspects of shipping lithium batteries, including current considerations for classification changes, safe air transport, fire safety requirements, and guidelines for battery disposal and recycling.

The full list of speakers is being compiled and will be confirmed soon. Interest in this seminar is expected to be high, so we recommend registering as soon as possible.

Registration

Registration for the Seminar is available to both BADGP members (£95.00) and non-members (£140.00). Further information and registration can be found on the following page, Lithium Battery Seminar.

Exhibition & Sponsorship

As at previous events we will be hosting an exhibition of products and services of interest to our members. 

If you would like to exhibit please email your interest to enquiries@badgp.org to find out more. 

Questions?

If you have any questions about the event, please contact the BADGP Office (enquiries@badgp.org).

Rumour abounded last week that FedEx (UK) were requiring all transport documents submitted from consignors and freight forwarders  to fully comply with ADR 5.4.1.1.(f) Note 1 and provide details of the load as it relates to the transport category and single or mixed load calculations. BADGP have sought clarification from both FedEx(UK) and the competent authority as it has been understood that ‘Notes’ within ADR are provided for information and clarification but do not form part of the direction of the law. The HSE have confirmed that FedEx(UK) must comply with CDGTPE (ADR) and if they wish to add additional arrangements within the scope of ADR then that is their right to do so. 

BADGP therefore notifies all of its members and readers of this news alert that all future dealings with FedEx(UK) will require transport documents that fully comply with Note 1 of ADR 5.4.1.1.(f). This information should be added as part of the supplementary information to the required DG identifiers as stated at ADR 5.4.1.1. a,b,c,d,k. To date we know of no other carrier that is requiring full implementation of this particular ADR note. 

Company interpretations of ADR are not new - for example many carriers chose not to transport Class 1 and Class 7 goods owing to business insurance restrictions. BADGP are aware of another carrier that requires a signed transport document for UK mainland DG movements as part of the company DG policy.

All DG competent persons are reminded that full compliance of CDGTPE(ADR) is the required status - anything additional is accepted provided that it does not contradict the instructions within the aforementioned law not compromise the required safe transport risk controls.

The UK’s Maritime Accident Investigation Bureau (MAIB) have published an interim report on the Solong /Stena Immaculate collision last month. The report details the known facts at this time and show the course and position of the vessels prior to and at the time of the incident. The report also show bridge camera footage (three stills) from the Stena Immaculate which show the collision and more importantly the visibility available at the time. A full report will be made in due course. For those DG professionals who want to know how to write an incident report - this is a very good example. The facts are clearly stated and explained - no opinions or possible causes are mentioned.

BADGP Newsletter Contributions - Deadlines For 2025 Editions

• September Newsletter, deadline for article contributions, 1st September 2025
• December Newsletter, deadline for article contributions, 1st December 2025

We accept articles from members and non-members, wherever you are in the World. 

You can find out more on our BADGP Newsletter web page and send your contributions to enquiries@badgp.org. 

We look forward to receiving your contributions!

We are delighted to announce that we have published the slides and recording of our webinar, "Changes to IMDG & IATA" 

Presented by:

BADGP members can access the content from the link on the Past Events page of this website.

Attention all UK organisations and businesses using DG by Air training.

The UK’s CAA has put out an email last week asking for any information relating to requests that are received from external parties to direct you to have only IATA DG by Air training certificates that have the valid IATA QR code printed thereon. 

There appears to be some issue in the USA that may spill over to the UK. The UK’s CAA are keen to nip this spill over potential in the bud and ask for notification should any approach be made to convince you to use certified IATA trainers and training providers only for DG by Air training compliance needs. The UK’s CAA directs and controls DG by Air training in the UK - not IATA.

If you are not comfortable contacting the DGO at UK’s CAA let us at BADGP know and we will use our channels to pass on the information.

We are delighted to announce that we have published the sides and recording of our webinar, "ADR 2025 - Overview of Upcoming Amendments"

Presented by:

Kevin Vagan, International Policy Advisor, Department for Transport

BADGP members can access the content from the link on the Past Events page of this website.