Beauty and personal care: Handling hazardous goods

What are dangerous goods?  

Dangerous goods are items that may pose a risk to health, safety or the environment during storage and transportation, and there are nine recognised categories. In the beauty and personal care industry, the most common classes are flammable liquids and flammable gases. In addition, some electrical beauty products containing lithium batteries may also fall under the miscellaneous class of dangerous goods. 

Typical dangerous goods in the beauty and personal care category include alcohol-based perfumes, aerosol deodorants and hairspray. Facilities storing these products must be adapted, and employees handling them need dedicated training. This helps to ensure compliance with national and international regulations. And here’s how a 3PL can help. 

Safer storage 

Warehouses that store dangerous goods must be equipped with special safety measures. In practice, this often means creating dedicated areas within a warehouse or a separate on-site facility. Specifications for these areas include fire-resistant walls and automatically closing doors to limit the risk of fire spreading. If more than ten tonnes of dangerous goods are stored, additional safety measures are required, such as automatic fire extinguishing systems and a 24/7 hotline to the emergency services. These requirements ensure the safety of the stock and the warehouse colleagues. 

A reliable warehouse management system (WMS) is another key tool for effective dangerous goods handling. It enables 3PLs to monitor the location of items at all times to ensure they are always stored and handled correctly. It also helps 3PLs to keep accurate records of all the dangerous goods they handle and share these lists with local authorities. In addition, the WMS can be set up to determine the exact amount of dangerous goods that can safely be included in each shipment. 

Reliable transportation 

Ensuring adequate safety precautions around dangerous goods is particularly important when it comes to transport. Within the EU, all carriers are required to comply with the European Agreement on the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road, also known as ADR. ADR is designed to ensure the safe loading of goods, the checking of accompanying documentation and the assessment of vehicle safety standards.  

Meanwhile, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the trade association for airlines around the world, has also established specific regulations for the transport of dangerous goods. All logistics providers handling dangerous goods must ensure compliance with ADR and IATA regulations to guarantee safe and efficient transportation. 

Perfect packaging 

Packaging can also play an important role in ensuring that dangerous goods reach their destination intact. Fragile beauty products, such as perfume, must be properly packaged because they are often sold in glass bottles that can easily break in transit. Broken items not only create waste but can also cause a fire hazard. Packaging therefore needs to be strong enough to withstand the journey, while still being space efficient.  

Clear and accurate labelling is also critical when transporting dangerous goods. The safety data sheet that accompanies each product indicates the class of dangerous goods being transported, telling carriers and handlers what precautions they need to take. To save time and streamline compliance, a WMS can be set up to automatically print packaging labels with the appropriate warning symbols, improving supply chain safety. 

Timely training 

All companies operating within the EU that store, handle or transport dangerous goods must employ an ADR-trained safety adviser. In some cases, an external adviser may be sufficient. However, larger 3PLs that handle dangerous goods will often have a full-time in-house safety advisor. They will advise the company on the transport of dangerous goods, monitor compliance and take proactive measures to prevent accidents.  

Training on the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations is vital for 3PLs handling shipments that will be transported by air. IATA works with local governments and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to develop effective training guidelines for the transport of dangerous goods by air. If a 3PL is not IATA-compliant, air carriers may refuse shipments on safety grounds. Compliance is therefore essential to avoid costly delays.  

Local regulations 

Dangerous goods regulations can vary by country or region. For instance, while ADR regulations apply throughout the EU, there may also be additional local rules to follow. In the Netherlands, for example, municipalities and provinces use ‘route obligations’ to designate specific routes that carriers must use to transport certain dangerous goods. In addition, Belgian local authorities have different regulations concerning the amounts of dangerous goods that may be stored per warehouse. 

To ensure compliance with these all relevant regulations, warehouse managers should liaise with local authorities to determine best practices. This should include working closely with the local fire services. A specialist 3PL provider will have the connections and in-house expertise in place to handle dangerous goods in a fully compliant manner.     

Your partner for dangerous goods logistics  

Dangerous goods require specialised resources, knowledge and training to ensure safe handling and transportation. Partnering with a 3PL that has all the required expertise is therefore a great investment for brands looking to enter or expand their offering in the beauty and personal care sector. Bleckmann continues to invest in the necessary resources, knowledge and training at all our locations so we can handle dangerous goods with confidence. With our end-to-end logistics support, our clients can rest assured that their needs are being met by experienced professionals throughout the supply chain.