MSDS Requirements for Registered Consignors

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In order for CANUTEC to provide adequate emergency response information during an incident, MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) are required from consignors of dangerous goods who obtain authorization to use CANUTEC's 24-hour Emergency Response Telephone Number by registering the consignor name with CANUTEC.

See the separate document “Definitions of Types of Consignors” for definitions to guide you.

For Manufacturers of dangerous goods

Manufacturers are required to provide all MSDS that they publish whether they are for materials regulated under the Transport of Dangerous Goods Regulations or not. This is especially critical if the manufacturer has placed CANUTEC's 24-hour Emergency Response Telephone Number on the MSDS.

For Distributors or End User Consignors of dangerous goods

CANUTEC requires an MSDS for most dangerous goods that are offered for transport. Distributors and End User Consignors are initially requested to provide the manufacturer name that appears on an MSDS describing a material regulated under the Transport of Dangerous Goods Regulations, instead of the MSDS itself. This will limit duplication of information since a manufacturer registered with CANUTEC is obligated to provide all its MSDS. You will subsequently be notified to provide MSDS for dangerous goods from non-registered manufacturers, if necessary.

Distributors and End User consignors are further exempted from providing MSDS for dangerous goods that are packaged in a size format that would qualify as a Limited Quantity under Section 1.17 of the current TDG Regulations and that are always shipped as such by you. See http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/tdg/clear-part1-475.htm#sec117. This exemption is optional but, if you chose to provide MSDS, only electronic files (that are not secured so as to prevent automatic indexing of the documents) will be accepted.

However, if you are an exclusive distributing agent for a foreign manufacturer, you are essentially considered to be a manufacturer for the purpose of a registration with CANUTEC. You must follow the requirements pertaining to a manufacturer (see above).

Furthermore, CANUTEC does not require an MSDS from Distributors or End User Consignors for a common chemical substance that has a product name that is fully descriptive of its contents such as propane, gasoline, diesel fuel, etc. Obviously, an MSDS is required when a product is identified by a commercial trade name or brand name, such as Miracle Mixture for example. If in doubt please contact CANUTEC.

If you transport nuclear instruments, please provide the technical sheet or photocopy of the section from the user manual that describes the radiation source and associated information.

Consignors who are carriers or generators of waste dangerous goods

An MSDS is not required for an industrial waste since it can vary in composition. If the waste is a dangerous good, the information found on the shipping document (the shipping name, class and packing group) will sufficiently describe the hazards of the waste during an emergency. However, if you do publish an MSDS for a waste and include CANUTEC's 24-hour Emergency Response Telephone Number on the MSDS, this MSDS must be provided to CANUTEC.

Consignors who are biomedical facilities

Consignors who predominantly offer for transport infectious substances or related materials (e.g., biological product, specimen, etc) will be referred to as Biomedical Facilities. An MSDS is not required but one may be provided if available.

Providing the msds

Do not fax msds due to degradation in legibility.

MSDS should be in electronic format (WordPerfect, Word, ascii, html files or pdf files). If you are sending pdf files, please remove the Document Security to allow copy/extract option. MSDS may be e-mailed to canutec.services@tc.gc.ca (10 Megs maximum per message). The acceptable storage media formats are CD-ROMs, DVDs or Zip drive diskettes. If the electronic format is not available, MSDS in paper format must be provided to CANUTEC at the following mailing address:

CANUTEC (Transport Canada)
330 Sparks Street
Place de Ville, Tower C
14th Floor, Suite 1415
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0N5

If you have any questions regarding the MSDS requirements, please contact Ms. Rose Roberge at the above e-mail address or by phone (613-947-5053).

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• MSDS Requirements for Registered Consignors (DOC Version, 32 KB)

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