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24 one-litre bottles: does UN 3082 really apply?

A customer ships 24 bottles of 1 L in a carton by sea. The SDS shows an aquatic toxicity hazard and the forwarder asks if it is dangerous goods.

Case Studies / Case 3 · Dangerous Goods Checker

Status: Illustrative scenario — a typical situation with invented details. Last reviewed 8 October 2026.
What’s at stake

Declaring too much costs DG surcharges on every shipment; declaring too little risks fines. The small-package rules decide which.

Case 3 · 2 min read · Last reviewed 8 October 2026

Problem

A customer ships 24 bottles of 1 L in a carton by sea. The SDS shows an aquatic toxicity hazard and the forwarder asks if it is dangerous goods.

Input

Product: liquid, environmentally hazardous, N.O.S. (UN 3082 candidate). Inner packaging 1 L, combination packaging. Mode: sea (IMDG) and road (ADR).

What I did

  1. Run the product through the checker and note the proper shipping name and UN number.
  2. Look at the packaging size: inner packagings of 5 L or less.
  3. Open the relief rule for environmentally hazardous substances in the code.

Result

Reference answer: UN 3082 is class 9. For small packagings, both codes contain a relief for environmentally hazardous substances (ADR special provision 375, IMDG section 2.10.2.7), so full DG documentation may not be required. The relief only applies to the specified packaging sizes and conditions.

Where it can go wrong

“Relief” does not mean “nothing to do”. Some basic packing requirements stay. Mixing this carton with other DG changes the answer.

Human verification

  • Read the exact wording and conditions of the relief in the current edition.
  • Check what else is in the same transport unit.
  • The carrier accepts the shipment as described.
Next step

Check your own shipment with the same steps.

Open the Dangerous Goods Checker →
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Stuck on a similar case?

Send the details (without customer names) to contact@supply.training. Written by a logistics professional with 20+ years on the floor — about the author.

Cases are anonymised and practical. They are not legal, customs, tax or dangerous-goods advice. Verify the current rule and the carrier or authority requirement for every real shipment. Last reviewed: 8 October 2026.