Diesel Fuel, Heating Oil and Jet A Fuel Oil Non-Spec Tank Grandfather Clause Expiring

Diesel fuel (UN 1202)¹ is a dangerous goods within the scope of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992, and the Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) Regulations.

Since the August 2002 amendment, the TDG Regulations require that when diesel fuel is transported in a container of greater than 450L capacity (a “large” container), that container must meet one of the safety standards prescribed in Part 5 of the Regulations. This requirement continues to apply even if a large container of over 450L capacity is underfilled.

Along with implementation of this new requirement for diesel fuel to be transported in standardized large containers, existing non-standardized tanks manufactured before 2003 were grandfathered for continued use for transport of diesel fuel by road until the end of 2009, under the conditions in specific requirement 5(b) of the CAN/CSA B621 Standard.

The grandfather provision for non-standardized diesel transport tanks expires at the end of 2009. As a result, starting January 1, 2010 all diesel fuel transport tanks of over 450L capacity will be required to meet one of the standards prescribed in Part 5 of the TDG Regulations. Non-standardized (non-spec) large containers will no longer be allowed for transport of diesel fuel after January 1, 2010.

The following standardized large container types are and will remain acceptable for diesel fuel transport beyond January 1, 2010:

• Railroad tank cars in accordance with the CAN/CGSB 43.147 standard;

• TC 406 and TC 306 tank trucks and trailers in accordance with the CAN/CSA B621 standard;

• UN code 31A and 31B standardized intermediate bulk containers (IBCs); including UN standardized ‘mobile' IBC slip tanks, in accordance with the CAN/CGSB 43.146 standard. IBCs are limited to 3000L capacity but some of up to 5000L capacity have been approved by exception; and

• TC or DOT 57 portable tanks used in accordance with the CAN/CGSB 43.146 standard.

In addition, the Canadian Standards Association has recently published standards for two new large container types suitable for diesel fuel transport:

• TC 44 portable tanks are specified in the CSA B626-09 standard. TC 44 portable tanks may be rectangular or may be of round or oval cross section; and

• UN standardized portable tanks are specified in the CSA B625-08 standard. UN portable tanks are internationally accepted and may or may not be enclosed in an ISO tank container frame.

Both the CSA B625 and CSA B626 are now available from CSA² in English. Once the French editions are published, we will propose these new standards for adoption in the TDG Regulations. Until that time, persons wishing to manufacture or use UN portable tanks or TC 44 tanks in Canada must do so under the authority of a Permit for Equivalent Level of Safety issued under Chapter 14 of the TDG Regulations.

Diesel fuel may still continue to be transported in non-standardized small containers having a capacity of 450L or less. Please also note that none of the Transport Canada TDG safety standards requires the use of double-walled tanks for diesel fuel transport. The TDG safety standards detail design, manufacturing, periodic retesting, approval and use requirements for dangerous goods transport containers, but they do not require nor recommend the use of double-walled tanks. For more on double-walled tanks please refer to the summer 2008 edition of the TDG Newsletter. http://www.tc.gc.ca/tdg/newsletter/summer2008.pdf

Should you wish to contact one of our regional Dangerous Goods offices for further information, the numbers are:

Atlantic:

• Moncton, NB: 866-814-1477, Fax:506-851-7042;
• Dartmouth, NS: 866-814-1477, Fax: 902-426-6921;
• St. John's, NL: 866-814-1477, Fax: 709-772-3072.

Quebec: 514-283-5722, Fax: 514-283-8234,

Ontario: 416-973-1868, Fax: 416-973-9907,

Prairie/Northern (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, NWT, and Nunavut):

• TollFree: 888-463-0521, or 204-983-3152
• Winnipeg, MB Fax: 204-983-8992;
• Saskatoon, SK Fax: 306-975-4555

Pacific:

• New Westminster 604-666-2955, Fax: 604-666-7747

Or visit the TDG website at: www.tc.gc.ca/tdg/safety/menu.htm

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1 - The container requirements described in this article also apply to similar dangerous goods like heating oil and Jet A-1 fuel that are flammable liquids in Packing Group III, with no subsidiary classification and having a flash point of 37.8°C or higher.

2 - http://www.shopcsa.ca/onlinestore/