Laboratories — every sample run is a carriage operation
Test tubes to the central laboratory, cryoboxes with dry ice, reagents between branches — a courier drives this route every morning. Samples, refrigerants and reagents are dangerous goods with their own UN numbers, and the decisions behind each shipment sit with the laboratory.
The lighter regime of P650 rests on one decision — that the sample truly belongs to Category B. A B instead of A mistake turns the parcel into UN 2814 in the full regime, and the boundaries are settled at classification.
This is what you already ship
Typical dangerous goods of the industry — with the real Table A entries. Tap any card to open the full UN page in our reference.
Class 6.2UN 3373, BIOLOGICAL SUBSTANCE, CATEGORY B
Biological substance, Category B — routine patient samples
LQ 0
Class 6.2UN 2814, INFECTIOUS SUBSTANCE, AFFECTING HUMANS
Infectious substance affecting humans — Category A cultures
LQ 0
Class 9UN 1845, Carbon dioxide, solid
Dry ice — refrigerant in every cryobox
Class 2UN 1977, NITROGEN, REFRIGERATED LIQUID
Refrigerated liquid nitrogen — cryostorage, biobanks
LQ 120 ml
Class 3UN 1230, METHANOL
Methanol — mobile phases, fixation, reagent stock
LQ 1 L
Class 9UN 3316, CHEMICAL KIT or FIRST AID KIT
Chemical kits — test and diagnostic sets
LQ See SP 251
Three ways your goods can travel
The same product can go as limited quantities, under the 1.1.3.6 partial exemption or in full ADR — the classification and the packaging decide.
Limited quantities (LQ)
Small inner packagings within the column 7a limit, up to 30 kg gross — the goods travel with the LQ diamond, free of most other ADR provisions (Chapter 3.4).
Partial exemption (1.1.3.6)
Below the transport category threshold per transport unit — no orange plates, no written instructions, no ADR driver certificate (the list in 1.1.3.6.2).
Full ADR
Above the thresholds the goods travel under the full set of rules — transport document, plates and labels, equipment, trained crew and every participant duty.
The same methanol travels three ways — reagent bottles go as LQ with the diamond, a box of jerricans may fit under 1.1.3.6, and a drum for the reagent store ships in full ADR with an ADR driver.
Who answers for what
ADR splits the duties among the participants of the carriage. These are the roles your company typically holds — with the exact ADR paragraphs.
Consignor
Hands over only consignments that conform to ADR — classified, authorized, in approved packagings, with the transport documents furnished to the carrier.
Packer
Follows the packing and mixed-packing conditions and, when preparing packages for carriage, the marking and labelling requirements.
Consignee
Accepts the goods without undue delay and verifies after unloading that the ADR requirements concerning him are met.
Unloader
Compares the transport document with what actually arrived before unloading.
For each of these roles the company needs an appointed safety adviser (1.8.3.1) — ours works on subscription.
About the DGSAWhat a mistake costs
A sample sent as an ordinary parcel — the sums below are what national law charges for it.
Sanctions are national — checks are European
Every ADR country sets its own fines for dangerous goods violations. Roadside checks follow one European standard — Directive (EU) 2022/1999 with a common list of infringements by risk category. Open your country to see the authorities and the exact amounts.
Find your countryAnd beyond the fines
- A vehicle stopped at a roadside check — with your customer waiting for the delivery
- An incident with an untrained crew — and an insurer reading the file closely
- Violations on record — and inspections coming back more often
What the law expects from you
ADR duties come first — and your industry carries its own EU rules on top.
Under ADR
- Classify every product before it is handed over for carriage
- Train everyone who touches dangerous goods (Chapter 1.3)
- Appoint a safety adviser — carriers, consignors, loaders, packers alike
- Mark, document and equip every consignment correctly
EU rules of the industry
P650 — packing instruction for UN 3373
A Category B sample packed correctly under P650 travels in a relieved regime — the rest of ADR steps back. The boundaries of that relief are settled at classification, and the A or B decision stays with the laboratory.
WHO Guidance — transport of infectious substances 2023–2024
The reference the whole laboratory world reads — classification of Category A and B, packaging and papers across all modes of transport. We keep your practice aligned with it.
Biological Agents — Directive 2000/54/EC
Worker protection risk groups and transport categories A and B are parallel systems — a strain lives in both at once, and the answers do not copy each other.
The industry in numbers
9,000+
laboratories across Europe are united in EUROLAB member associations — the scale of daily sample and reagent logistics
Source · EUROLABIs this about you?
If even one line matches your operation — it is worth a conversation.
- A courier carries test tubes to the central laboratory every day
- You ship samples with dry ice or in liquid nitrogen
- Reagents and test kits move between branches in ordinary vans
- The A or B category decision is made by your own people
- Nobody in the organisation is formally appointed as the safety adviser
Our solutions
Small volumes, strict rules — P650, dry ice and reagents fit into one clear system.
Cargo instruction with the transport document entry
Classification, the carriage regime and the ready transport document entry — for a specific cargo.
from €50 / document
A consultant on subscription
A certified safety adviser, the appointment notice and the platform — from €50 a month plus €10 per consignment.
ADRplus One
Train the team
Chapter 1.3 courses online, in your languages — at your own pace, with certificates.
Course is being updated
ADR compliance audit
A remote compliance audit with a report — where you stand and what to fix first.
€290
Questions from the industry
Have a different question?
Contact the consultantCategory B samples are hardly dangerous goods, are they?
They are — UN 3373 with a relieved regime that holds only while the packaging follows P650 and the classification is right. The boundaries are settled at classification, and that is exactly the work we take on.
Dry ice is just frozen CO₂ — what is the problem?
On the road its regime is mild, with ventilation and marking still expected. In the air UN 1845 is a fully fledged dangerous good — and a courier network with an air leg lives by the rules of aviation, not of ADR.
Who answers for the A or B category of a sample?
The consignor — that is, the laboratory. A B instead of A mistake means carrying UN 2814 without the full regime, with all consequences on your side. We build the decision procedure so the doubt cases go to the consultant for a decision, not into the parcel.
Where do we start?
Send the list of samples, refrigerants and reagents — we prepare the cargo instruction with the transport document entry from €50 per document and show which flow needs which regime. From there the subscription from €50 + €10 per transport covers the adviser, the platform and the training of your couriers and staff.
Tell us how your goods move
Within one working day you get a clear answer — what applies to you, what does not, and what it costs to be in order.