Mexico introduces amendments in the standard on marking and labelling of dangerous goods for transport

On 2 March 2023, a draft standard was disclosed that involves two standards on marking and labelling requirements from 2008. The draft standard aligns Mexico’s rule with the UN model regulation. It describes the contents and sizes of labels when they are used on packages, containers, tank wagons, and freight containers.

Until 1 May, Mexico’s Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transport (SICT), is consulting on the draft standard on marking and labelling.

The Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT) of Mexico is the national federal entity that regulates commercial road traffic and broadcasting. It sets and conducts policies and programs to develop transport and communications in line with the country's needs. It also regulates, inspects, and oversees mail and telegraph services.

As per the 2008 edition of the standard, shipping of different dangerous goods items in multi-compartment tanks require labels to be displayed on both sides of each compartment. The updated version of the standard from 2023 explains that the labels need to be displayed only once along the sides of the transport unit if all compartments require the same labels.

Also, the provisions in the 2008 edition describe that if a transport unit contains multiple items having different hazard classes for shipping, the labels should identify the two most dangerous items. This requisite has been eliminated from the updated version as there is no information available on the identification of the two dangerous items from the multiple products. Furthermore, a lithium battery mark is introduced in the updated standard for packages containing defined amounts of lithium-ion cells or batteries.

For a substance in quantities of more than 4,000 kg, the standard will associate with the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) code to include UN number labels for multimodal containers transported by sea.

23 standards on dangerous goods transport are being revised by the SICT. The standards which are already published involve standards on transport documents, packaging construction and testing, as well as correct use of packaging.