Letter of Consultation Regarding the Joint Development of the National Standard "Test Methods for Transport Packaging of Hazardous Goods"

Dear Enterprises and Institutions:

Dangerous goods refer to items that are prone to combustion, explosion, corrosion, poisoning, or radioactivity—and which can easily cause personal injury, death, and property damage during transportation and storage, necessitating the use of specialized protective equipment and measures. Compliance with packaging regulations for dangerous goods involves both transportation and packaging aspects. Currently, China’s compliance requirements for exports and domestic trade circulation are not entirely aligned, resulting in a situation where domestic trade practices have yet to fully harmonize with international standards.

Hazardous goods packaging is typically guided by mandatory and recommended standards, while various regulatory bodies have also introduced specific laws and departmental rules tailored to different stages of the packaging process—such as production, usage, and recycling. The content related to hazardous goods packaging can broadly be categorized into three areas: packaging product manufacturing, packaging application, and labeling.

Developed economies have gained valuable practical experience in packaging hazardous goods, enabling their regulatory authorities to establish a comprehensive system. This system leverages packaging products and technologies as a key tool, fostering collaboration among organizations involved in the production, storage, transportation, and recycling of hazardous materials. Ultimately, it creates an economic model that combines industry self-regulation with robust legal oversight and management.

Given the need in our country to accelerate the supplementation and refinement of technical standards for hazardous goods transport packaging, as well as to promote their widespread adoption, providing compliant technical services to businesses, thoroughly summarizing practical experiences, and offering safeguard measures and industry-standard insights to support management departments in further establishing a robust regulatory framework.

The China Packaging Research and Testing Center has proposed the development of a national standard titled "Packaging – Test Methods for Transport Packaging of Dangerous Goods," which has now been approved for project initiation by the National Standardization Administration Committee (SAC). According to the SAC's "Notice on Issuing the Second Batch of Recommended National Standard Plans and Related Foreign-Language Versions for 2023" (SAC Document No. [2023]37), the recommended national standard "Packaging – Test Methods for Transport Packaging of Dangerous Goods" (Plan No.: 20230755-T-469) is being developed under the auspices of the National Technical Committee for Packaging Standardization (SAC/TC49), which is responsible for its formulation and management.

This standard serves as the technical foundation for regulations and mandatory standards governing the import, export, and domestic circulation of hazardous goods in China. It will play a critical role in the testing and quality management of transport packaging for hazardous materials.

The China Packaging Research and Testing Center is a professional, nationally recognized packaging research and testing institution, serving as the chairman unit of the National Technical Committee for Packaging Standardization, as well as the vice-secretary-general unit. Our center will be responsible for organizing the development of this standard project.

To standardize the market economy order and provide more detailed technical guidance to businesses, we will base our efforts on the current state of industry development while closely monitoring emerging industry trends. We’ll actively draw upon advanced international standards and conduct thorough testing and verification based on relevant requirements. The development of this standard will not only regulate and guide the production and use of products but also foster the long-term growth of the industry. Currently, we are inviting enterprises and institutions across the country—involved in the manufacturing, application, research, and testing of hazardous material packaging—to collaborate in shaping this crucial standard.

As a participating company, you can benefit in the following ways:

1. Company products can participate in testing, and the resulting test data will be incorporated into the standard.

2. The company's technical director participates in the working groups for standards and projects.

3. The company establishes itself as a leading brand in the industry, further enhancing its influence and reputation.

4. The company's adjustments related to the benchmark are relatively small.

5. Companies hold the power to shape the rules.

6. Companies seize the market opportunity.

7. Businesses gain access to a stronger growth platform, creating more opportunities to promote and market their products.

8. Your company is entitled to both organizational and individual authorship rights.

9. An important criterion for title evaluation and job promotion as a contributing author.

10. Companies can also apply to the local government for special fund incentives aimed at standard-setting initiatives.

Our center, as the organizing entity, is responsible for tasks such as drafting standards, validating data, conducting organizational reviews, and preparing submission documents. Collaborating partners will assist in drafting, provide industry insights and company-specific standards, and supply experimental samples. Detailed arrangements will be outlined in a formal cooperation agreement. Meanwhile, the National Standards Committee, which includes participating units in standard drafting, has officially approved the initiation of the national standard development process. A portion of funding will also be provided to support these efforts.

If your organization is interested in participating, please contact us and fill out the bidding form.

Contacts: Liu Hui, Zhang Yan

Emails: liuhui@packagetest.net, zhangyan17@packagetest.net

Phone: 13652142194 (same number on WeChat), 18602671767 (same number on WeChat)