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Please stay tuned to this section on the website, where for the next 30 weeks we will be highlighting special achievements and
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#6 DGAC's Work to Restructure the UN Recommendations into the UN Model Regulations
A Need for Organization
The UN Recommendations were first published in 1956 by the United Nations Social and Economic Committee on the Transport of
Dangerous Goods.
In the four decades that followed, they were regularly updated and amended. These subsequent amendments were appended onto the
back of the Recommendations and they began to grow unwieldy and difficult to use.
In 1994, the Committee of Experts "considered that reformatting the Recommendations into Model Regulations that could be directly
integrated into all modal national and international regulations would enhance harmonization [and] facilitate regular up-dating of
all legal instruments concerned." (From the Foreword of the Tenth Edition)
DGAC stepped up to the plate and volunteered to undertake the enormous task. Contracting with Andy Altemos, the work took
place over the next two years. The draft model regulations format was submitted to the UN in 1995 and approved.
Follow the Developing Story
Use the links below to follow DGAC's news coverage of the reformatting effort throughout the mid-1990s.
Left: The 8th Edition of the UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods.
Right: Commonly referred
to as the "Orange Book," the current Model Regulations are comprised of two separate volumes and are in their 15th edition.
To order copies of the latest UN Model Regulations, click here.
Making an Impact
It is not really possible to measure the impact that reformatting the UN Recommendations into the Model Recommendations has had on
the global transport of dangerous goods. That it paved the way for future harmonization efforts is an understatement.
As the Model Regulations continue to evolve throughout the twenty-first century, DGAC will be at the forefront of those changes
as it was in the past.
Dangerous Goods Advisory Council | 1100 H. Street N.W. | Suite 740 | Washington, DC 20005 | 202/289-4550 | 202/289-4074 fax | info@dgac.org
This site was updated February 29, 2008, by Lisa M. Keyser. Although we attempt to keep this information up to
date, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information provided.
