Capstone: preparing a shipment of cylinders and batteries for road transport

This capstone brings the course together in one realistic job. Ridgeback Welding Supply, an invented distributor in Thunder Bay, Ontario, has an order from a construction contractor for a set of gas cylinders and a box of large lithium-ion battery packs for cordless tools. Ridgeback will deliver the order on its own flatbed truck to a job site 40 km away. You are the shipping supervisor. Your task is to work out everything the TDG Regulations require, step by step, from classification to what the driver does if something goes wrong. The company and its numbers are invented for teaching; the method is real.

The order

Step 1: Classify and identify

Start with the dangerous goods list. Each product is listed by name, so you use the Schedule 1 entries rather than generic ones. Acetylene is a flammable gas. Oxygen is a non-flammable gas with an oxidizing subsidiary hazard. Argon is a non-flammable, non-toxic gas. The battery packs are class 9. The aerosols are flammable aerosols, already packed and marked as limited quantities.

Before moving on, read the special provisions for each entry. The lithium battery entry has several, covering how batteries must be protected against short circuits, the packaging needed for batteries above set watt-hour ratings and the battery mark. The aerosol entry's provisions set the limited quantity conditions. The gas entries refer you to cylinder requirements.

Then check column 7 for each entry. For this exercise, assume the list shows no ERAP requirement for these products at these cylinder sizes and quantities. In a real shipment you would confirm it in the current Schedule 1, because an ERAP requirement would add a plan reference number and telephone number to the shipping document.

Step 2: Check for exemptions

Could an exemption avoid the full rules? The 150 kg consumer exemption does not fit: the goods are being delivered to a business customer and the total is far above 150 kg. The 500 kg exemption does not fit either, as Step 4 shows, because the total gross mass is above 500 kg. The aerosols do qualify as limited quantities on their own, but they still count toward the vehicle's total. So the cylinders and batteries need full compliance.

Step 3: Check the containers

Each cylinder must meet a specification accepted by the TDG Regulations, be within its requalification date, have a closed valve protected by a cap or a guard, and show no damage. Acetylene cylinders contain a porous mass and solvent and must always be transported upright, and must never be transported on their side. Oxygen cylinders and fittings must be kept free of oil and grease, which can ignite in contact with high-pressure oxygen. The battery packs must be packed in the manufacturer's UN specification packaging for lithium batteries, with each pack protected against short circuits and movement, and must not be damaged or recalled.

Step 4: Total the load and decide on placards

# Ridgeback Welding Supply: placard and document check for the Canadian delivery (invented example).
load = [  # (description, UN, class, subsidiary, gross kg each, count, limited quantity?)
    ("ACETYLENE, DISSOLVED", "UN1001", "2.1", None, 80, 4, False),
    ("OXYGEN, COMPRESSED", "UN1072", "2.2", "5.1", 70, 4, False),
    ("ARGON, COMPRESSED", "UN1006", "2.2", None, 65, 2, False),
    ("LITHIUM ION BATTERIES", "UN3480", "9", None, 24, 1, False),
    ("AEROSOLS, flammable", "UN1950", "2.1", None, 6, 2, True),
]
total = sum(m * n for *_, m, n, _ in load)
print(f"total gross mass of dangerous goods on the vehicle: {total} kg")
regulated = [x for x in load if not x[6]]
placards = sorted({x[2] for x in regulated}) if total > 500 else []
print("placards (each side and each end):", ", ".join(placards) or "none")
print("shipping document lines:")
for name, un, cls, sub, m, n, lq in regulated:
    c = cls + (f" ({sub})" if sub else "")
    unit = "box" if cls == "9" else "cylinders"
    print(f"  {un}, {name}, {c}, {m * n} kg, {n} {unit}")

total gross mass of dangerous goods on the vehicle: 766 kg
placards (each side and each end): 2.1, 2.2, 9
shipping document lines:
  UN1001, ACETYLENE, DISSOLVED, 2.1, 320 kg, 4 cylinders
  UN1072, OXYGEN, COMPRESSED, 2.2 (5.1), 280 kg, 4 cylinders
  UN1006, ARGON, COMPRESSED, 2.2, 130 kg, 2 cylinders
  UN3480, LITHIUM ION BATTERIES, 9, 24 kg, 1 box

The total of 766 kg is above 500 kg, so the truck must display placards for each primary class: 2.1, 2.2 and 9, on both sides and both ends. Ridgeback, as consignor, must supply the placards if the truck does not already carry them. The limited quantity aerosols count toward the total but do not need their own document entry or class placard. Because the 500 kg exemption does not apply, the full shipping document is required.

Step 5: Load, segregate and secure

Cylinders must be secured upright in racks or cradles designed for them, restrained so they cannot move, roll or fall, with valve caps or guards in place. On a flatbed they are best carried in a cylinder rack chained to the deck. Acetylene and oxygen are compatible enough to share a vehicle, as they commonly do in welding supply delivery, but they should be in separate racks and the oxygen kept away from any oil, grease or fuel. Cylinders should never be carried in a closed passenger compartment, where a leak could fill the space. The battery box and aerosol cartons go in a secured cargo box, protected from rain and from being crushed by the cylinders.

Step 6: Mark and label

Each cylinder must show its shipping name and UN number and carry its class label, and the oxygen cylinders also carry a 5.1 subsidiary label. On cylinders, the label is usually a smaller neck label or collar tag, which the regulations allow when a full-sized label will not fit. The battery box must show the UN number and shipping name, the class 9 lithium battery label and the lithium battery mark, which since 2026 no longer needs a telephone number in Canada. The aerosol cartons carry the limited quantity mark.

Step 7: Prepare the shipping document

Ridgeback prepares a shipping document with its name and address, the date, each dangerous goods entry in the required order with quantity and number of containers, its 24-hour telephone number answered by someone who knows these products, and the consignor's certification with the name of the person who prepared it. The driver keeps the document within reach in the cab, and on the seat or in the door pocket when out of the truck. Ridgeback keeps a copy for two years.

Step 8: Training and the driver's briefing

Everyone involved must be trained for their duties and hold a Ridgeback training certificate: the warehouse worker who selected and checked the cylinders, the supervisor who classified the goods and signed the document, and the driver. The driver's certificate must cover road transport, placarding, documents, securement of cylinders and emergency measures. Before leaving, the supervisor briefs the driver on the load, the route, where the documents are and what to do in an emergency.

Step 9: The emergency plan

The driver should know the ERG guides for the load before setting off: guide 116 for acetylene (flammable gases, unstable), guide 122 for oxygen (oxidizing gases), guide 121 for argon (inert gases) and guide 147 for lithium-ion batteries. If a cylinder leaks, the driver moves away upwind, keeps people back and eliminates ignition sources. If the truck crashes or a fire starts, the driver calls 911, warns responders that pressurized cylinders and lithium batteries are on board, gives them the shipping document, and calls Ridgeback's 24-hour number. Cylinders involved in fire can rupture violently, so the ERG advises large isolation distances.

If a release meets the Part 8 thresholds, which for class 2 gases means any quantity, an emergency report to the local authority is required, and a serious incident adds immediate reports to CANUTEC and to Ridgeback as consignor and a 30-day report to Transport Canada.