UN/SCETDG/18/INF.51

Inspection of dangerous goods packages by customs authorities

Transmitted by ICAO

At the DGP/17 meeting, it was pointed out that consignments of dangerous goods are subject to inspection by customs authorities. In some instances, packages are opened in order to ensure full compliance with customs and security regulations. If everything is in order, the packages are resealed and allowed to continue on their journey. This practice raises some concerns:

a)	after opening and resealing, is the package still deemed to be capable of meeting its test requirements; and

b)	in the event of a subsequent package failure, who is responsible for the integrity of the package.

There have been cases where inspected packages have subsequently been found to be leaking and this indicates a potential safety problem in the manner in which these inspections were carried out.

It was agreed that this was a multi-modal problem which should be addressed by the UNCOE.

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