Dangerous Goods

The Law–Then and Now

In the past, the transportation of dangerous goods was regulated by a condition of carriage printed at the back of the moving contract. That condition, known as No. 15, still reads as follows on the Bill of Lading:

“Every person, whether as principal or agent, shipping explosives or dangerous goods without previous full disclosure to the carrier as required by law, shall indemnify the carrier against all loss, damage or delay caused thereby, and such goods may be warehoused at the consignor’s risk and expense.”

Today, in order to further public safety, Federal, Provincial and Territorial governments have enacted legislation under the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act. Such legislation clearly establishes under what conditions goods can be shipped.

Allowable Items

Meldrum has used the Dangerous Goods Act to establish the following lists of products that we will allow and will not allow to be transported in our vans and containers. These lists of items have been developed to safeguard your shipment, other Customers’ shipments, our moving teams and equipment.

Certain items may accompany a shipment of household goods under these conditions:

The items must be placed in a carton clearly labeled as follows: “Consumer Commodity– Dangerous Goods Exempt”. Your Allied Moving Consultant will give you the necessary sticker.
The carton must be pointed out to the van operator at the time of loading so that he may list it clearly on the Inventory.
You must declare that the dangerous goods contained in the designated carton are the only dangerous goods in the shipment as defined in the Act. In order to make this declaration, you will be requested to sign the following statement on the front of the Bill of Lading: “I warrant that this shipment of goods does not contain any dangerous substance as defined under the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act of Canada or any Province or Territory, except such goods as are declared exempt by each applicable act and regulations thereunder. I also warrant that all such goods are or will be in a carton marked ‘Consumer Commodity –Dangerous Goods Exempt’ and shown as such on the Inventory.”

Those products which must be placed in the specially marked carton include, among other non-restricted chemicals:

Chemicals for photographic hobby
Household cleaners (i.e. Mr. Clean, Ajax, Comet, Spic ‘n’ Span)
Nail polish & remover
Perfume

Dangerous Items

To guard against damage which could be caused by combustion, leakage or explosion, the following items may NOT be included in your shipment:

Aerosol cans (except personal toiletries).

Ammunition
Acid batteries with the exception of those included in a vehicle transported with your shipment of household goods
Bleach
Chemistry sets
Cleaning fluids (i.e. varsol, turpentine, ammonia)
Explosives
Fire extinguishers