Worldwide, 500,000 shipments of materials which pose chemical, physical,
or biological risks to human health, property, or the environment are
made each day by air, rail, road, sea, and inland waterways totalling
over 3. 6 bil- 1 lion metric tons each year. To ensure safety during
transportation, the 2 means by which these dangerous goods and hazardous
materials are pack- aged and handled is prescribed by international
authority including the United Nations, the International Maritime
Organization, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the International
Civil Aviation Organization, and the International Air Transport
Association, as well as national authorities such as the Department of
Transportation in the United States. In fact, the United Nations
establishes model regulations that function as recommenda- tions
addressed to international organizations and national governments. At
the core of regulation lies hazard identification: once accurately
identi- fied, the hazards of dangerous goods may be communicated and the
material safely packaged, segregated, transported, and handled by
qualified personnel. Incorrectly identified materials increase greatly
the risk of explosion, fire, poisoning, or some other mishap. To aid
identification, each authority maintains a list of the articles,
substances, and materials it regulates compris- ing thousands of entries
including chemical names, industry-specific terms, tradenames, generic
descriptions, and other specialized terms common to the language of
transportation. While much of this language is recognizable, some is
less well understood even to transportation, environmental, and health
professionals.
