International Standards For Phytosanitary Measures No.

15 (ISPM 15) is an International

Phytosanitary Measure developed by theInternational Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) that
directly addresses the need to treat wood materials of a thickness greater than 6mm, used to ship
products between countries. Its main purpose is to prevent the international transport and spread of
disease and insects that could negatively affect plants or ecosystems. ISPM 15 affects all
wood packaging material (pallets, crates, dunnages, etc.) requiring that they be debarked and then
heat treated or fumigated with methyl bromide and stamped or branded,[1] with a mark of
compliance. This mark of compliance is colloquially known as the "wheat stamp". Products exempt
from the ISPM 15 are made from alternative material, like paper, plastic or wood panel products
(i.e. OSB, hardboard, and plywood).

ISPM 15 revision
The Revision of ISPM No. 15 (2009) under Annex 1, [2] requires that wood used to manufacture ISPM
15 compliant Wood Packaging must be made from debarked wood[3] not to be confused with bark
free wood. ISPM 15 was updated to adopt the bark restriction regulations proposed by the European
Union in 2009. Australia held out for approximately one year with more stringent bark restrictions
before conforming July 1, 2010 [4]

Debarked wood packaging

Wooden crate of clementines (mandarins) from Morocco, showing the ISPM 15 logo in the lower left corner (MA for
Morocco, from the French "Maroc") in 2010.

Wood packaging materials must be debarked prior to being heat treated or fumigated to meet ISPM
15 regulations. The debarking component of the regulation is to prevent the re-infestation of insects
while lumber is sitting to be manufactured, or even after it has been manufactured. The official
definition for debarked lumber according to the ISPM 15 Revision (2009) is:
"Irrespective of the type of treatment applied, wood packaging material must be made of debarked
wood. For this standard, any number of visually separate and clearly distinct small pieces of bark
may remain if they are: - less than 3 cm in width (regardless of the length) or - greater than 3 cm in
width, with the total surface area of an individual piece of bark less than 50 square cm."

Argument for bark removal

What are the post treatment levels of infestation (with and without bark) compared with pretreatment levels? Overall, from the studies presented there is either: a) no significant difference
between infestation levels of treated and untreated wood; or b) differences identified are related to
the species of insect which may prefer treated or untreated wood. Supporting information from a
North American study (IFQRG 2005-27) is summarised in the Table below

[5]

(Data are numbers of

beetles per cm2):

Bark Size

Bark Beetle

Bark Beetle

Bark Borer

Bark Borer

(Control)

(HT)

(Control)

(HT)

25 cm2

0.01

0.0035

0.0133

0.0064

100 cm2

0.005

0.01

0.0086

0.015

0.0087

0.012

0.0118

0.0137

100%
Coverage

ISPM Marking

Sample ISPM logo showing the MB for methyl bromide treatment of the wood.

IPPC certification symbol.

XX: represents the two letter ISO country code or ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code (e.g. AU for
Australia, US for United States, NZ for New Zealand, GB for United Kingdom).

00: represents the unique certification number issued to NPPOs (regulating agencies that
oversee the individual wood packaging manufacturers). Inclusion of this certification number
ensures that the wood packaging material can be traced back to the NPPO/auditing agency.

1111: represents the unique certification number issued to the treatment provider and/or
manufacturer. Inclusion of this certification number ensures that the wood packaging material
can be traced back to the treatment provider and/or the manufacturer.

YY: represents the treatment applied to the wood packaging material:

HT is the code for heat treatment to a minimum of 56C (133F) for a minimum of 30
minutes

MB is the code for methyl bromide fumigation.

DUN: represents the code for when the solid wood material is used for dunnage. The "DUN"

Dunnage code is not applied to manufactured wood packaging, only loose lumber/timbers to
help secure products being shipped.
The ISPM 15 compliant stamp may include further information as producers and suppliers may
choose to include additional information for identification purposes.

Countries participating in ISPM 15

Although this is only a reference, confirmation with the export authority when exporting to another
country is required. This is a complete list as of July 1, 2010.
Countries and their approximate ISPM 15 Adoption Date: [6]

Argentina: June 2006

Australia: Sept 2004; Complete Adoption: July 2010

Bolivia: July 2005

Brazil: June 2005

Bulgaria: Jan 2006

Canada: Sept 2005 (US-Canada exemption)

Chile: June 2005

China: Jan 2006

Colombia: Sept 2005

Costa Rica: Mar 2006

Cuba: Oct 2008

Dominican Republic: July 2006

Ecuador: Sept 2005

Egypt: Oct 2005

European Union: Mar 2005

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Croatia

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Malta

Netherlands

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

United Kingdom.

Guatemala: Sept 2005

Honduras: Feb 2006

India: Nov 2004

Indonesia: Sept 2009

Israel: June 2009

Jamaica: January 2011

Japan: Apr 2007

Jordan: Nov 2005

Kenya: Jan 2006

Lebanon: Mar 2006

Malaysia: Jan 2010

Mexico: Sept 2005

New Zealand: April 2003

Nicaragua: Feb 2006

Nigeria: Sept 2004

Norway: July 2008

Oman: Dec 2006

Paraguay: June 2005

Peru: Mar 2005

Philippines: June 2005

Seychelles: Mar 2006

South Africa: Jan 2005

South Korea: June 2005

Sri Lanka: Mar 2004

Switzerland: Mar 2005

Syria: April 2006

Thailand: February 2010

Taiwan: Jan 2009

Trinidad & Tobago: July 2010

Turkey: Jan 2006

United States

Ukraine: Oct 2005

Venezuela: June 2005

Vietnam: June 2005

Q.2heat treatment

Definition
Process in which a metal is heated to a certain temperature and the cooled in a
particular manner to alter its internal structure for obtaining desired degree of physical
and mechanical properties such as brittleness, hardness, and softness.

This article is about metal heat treatments. For ISPM 15 heat treatment of wood, see ISPM 15. For
wood heat treatment, see Heat treatment of wood.

Heat treating furnace at 1,800 F (980 C)

Heat treating is a group of industrial and metalworking processes used to alter the physical, and
sometimes chemical, properties of a material. The most common application is metallurgical. Heat
treatments are also used in the manufacture of many other materials, such asglass. Heat treatment
involves the use of heating or chilling, normally to extreme temperatures, to achieve a desired result
such as hardening or softening of a material. Heat treatment techniques include annealing, case
hardening, precipitation strengthening, temperingand quenching. It is noteworthy that while the
term heat treatment applies only to processes where the heating and cooling are done for the
specific purpose of altering properties intentionally, heating and cooling often occur incidentally
during other manufacturing processes such as hot forming or welding.

Q.3.Fumigation is a method of pest control that completely fills an area

with gaseous pesticidesor fumigantsto suffocate or poison the pests
within. It is utilized for control of pests in buildings (structural fumigation),
soil, grain, and produce, and is also used during processing of goods to be
imported or exported to prevent transfer of exotic organisms. This method
also affects the structure itself, affecting pests that inhabit the physical

structure, such as woodborers and drywood termites.

Process
Fumigation generally involves the following phases: First the area intended
to be fumigated is usually covered to create a sealed environment; next the
fumigant is released into the space to be fumigated; then, the space is held
for a set period while the fumigant gas percolates through the space and
acts on and kills any infestation in the product, next the space is ventilated
so that thepoisonous gases are allowed to escape from the space, and
render it safe for humans to enter. If successful, the fumigated area is now
safe and pest free.
Tent fumigation (Tenting)
Structural techniques differ from building to building, but in houses a rubber
tent is often placed over the entire house while the pesticides ad, which in
turn depend on the severity of infestation and size of the building.
Chemicals
Methyl bromide was among the most widely used fumigants until its
production and use was restricted by the Montreal Protocol due to its role
in ozone depletion.
Widely used fumigants include:

phosphine

1,3-dichloropropene

chloropicrin

methyl isocyanate

hydrogen cyanide

sulfuryl fluoride

formaldehyde

Iodoform

Safety
Fumigation is a hazardous operation. Generally it is a legal requirement
that the operator who carries out the fumigation operation holds
official certification to perform the fumigation as the chemicals used are
toxic to most forms of life, including humans.[1]
Post operation ventilation of the area is a critical safety aspect of
fumigation. It is important to distinguish between the pack or source of the
fumigant gas and the environment which has been fumigated. While the
fumigant pack may be safe and spent, the space will still hold the fumigant
gas until it has been ventilated.
mites.[1].
Q.2
Transportation of dangerous goods through any route of transport requires a lot of precautionary
and safety measures. Massive quantities of dangerous goods are transported each day through
maritime transport modes. In order to enforce a proper method of transporting such hazardous
materials (HazMat) there is a proper categorisation for them, which ensure utmost safety and
precaution.

In terms of marine transport, the dangerous goods classification is based on SOLAS

and MARPOL convention of the IMO which ultimately finds its place in the International
Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code.

The types of dangerous goods, classified under nine groups can be listed down as
follows:
Group I: Explosive Materials
Group II: Gaseous Materials
Group III: Inflammable Liquids
Group IV: Inflammable Solids
Group V: Materials containing peroxides, easily oxidising contents
Group VI: Substances highly toxic and infective
Group VII: Radioactive substances and materials
Group VIII: Erosive Materials
Group IX: Dangerous materials and substances miscellaneous in nature

This list of classification is charted by the United Nations Committee of Experts on the
Transport of Dangerous Goods.

Under all of these heads of categories, categories Group I to Group VI (except Group III)
have various sub-heads denoted to further sub-divide the dangerous goods
classification, so that a better ease in the packaging and storage of dangerous goods is
enabled. The sub-categories of the types of dangerous goods can be enumerated as
follows:

Group I has six sub-classes ranging from explosives which have a major explosion
threat to those which do not have that big a threat in terms of a mass-scale explosion
respectively

Group II has three sub-divisions for flammable gases, compressed gases and gases
that cause health hazards due to their inhalation in that order

Group IV has three sub-divisions for flammable solids, combustible materials and solids
that have the tendency to give off inflammable gases when they come in tangency with
water respectively

Group V has two sub-classes categorising materials that easily oxidise and those which
contain peroxides and have a tendency to cause harm when impacted, respectively

Group VI also has two sub-divisions dealing with poisonous and radioactive materials
and substances respectively

In the best interests of the shipping and business corporations that frequently carry out
transportation of dangerous goods, a Dangerous Goods Safety Advisor (DGSA) has
been appointed. The role and responsibility of the DGSA can be enumerated as follows:
-

The DGSA has to ensure that the required rules and regulations pertaining to the

packaging and storage of dangerous goods is met with as is the overall transportation
aspect
-

The DGSA looks after the investigation procedures from the companys

perspective in case of any accident or incident

-

The advisor is also in-charge of the compilation of reports and data pertaining to

the transportation of dangerous goods, required by the company management

The oceanic environment today is standing at a very vulnerable threshold. This is why
the classification of dangerous goods for the oceanic transportation network becomes
even more important and necessary. Through these measures the international bodies
of authority can ensure that there are no chances of the marine eco-system degrading
further. For, if the eco-system faces more problems, it will lead to a crisis not just for the
creatures and plants but also for us humans who depend on the ocean for our
livelihood.

Q.B.
(a) Heat and sources of ignition:

(1) Class 1 (explosive) materials must be stowed in a cool part of the ship and must be
kept as cool as practicable while on board. Stowage must be well away from all sources
of heat, including steam pipes, heating coils, sparks, and flame.
(2) Except where the consignment of Class 1 (explosive) materials consists only of
explosive articles, the wearing of shoes or boots with unprotected metal nails, heels, or
tips of any kind is prohibited.
(b) Wetness:
(1) Spaces where Class 1 (explosive) materials are stowed below deck must be dry. In
the event of the contents of packages being affected by water when on board
immediate advice must be sought from the shippers; pending this advice handling of
the packages must be avoided.
(2) Bilges and bilge sections must be examined and any residue of previous cargo
removed before Class 1 materials (explosive) are loaded onto the vessel.
(c) Security: All compartments, magazines, and cargo transport units containing Class
1 (explosive) materials must be locked or suitably secured in order to prevent
unauthorized access.
(d) Secure stowage: Class 1 (explosive) materials must be securely stowed to prevent
shifting in transit; where necessary, precautions must be taken to prevent cargo sliding
down between the frames at the ship's sides.
(e) Separation from accommodation spaces and machinery spaces:
(1) Class 1 (explosive) materials must be stowed as far away as practicable from any
accommodation spaces or any machinery space and may not be stowed directly above
or below such a space. The requirements in paragraphs (e)(2) through (e)(4) of this
section are minimum requirements in addition to the applicable requirements of 46 CFR
chapter I. Where the requirements of this subpart are less stringent than those of 46
CFR chapter I, the 46 CFR chapter I requirements must be satisfied for ships to which
they are applicable.
(2) There must be a permanent A Class steel bulkhead between any accommodation
space and any compartment containing Class 1 (explosive) materials. Division 1.1, 1.2,
1.3, or 1.5 materials may not be stowed within 3 m (10 feet) of this bulkhead; in the
decks immediately above or below an accommodation space they must be stowed at
least 3 m (10 feet) from the line of this bulkhead projected vertically.
(3) There must be a permanent A Class steel bulkhead between a compartment
containing Class 1 (explosive) materials and any machinery space. Class 1 (explosive)

materials, except those in Division 1.4 (explosive), may not be stowed within 3 m (10
feet) of this bulkhead; and in the decks above or below the machinery space they must
be stowed at least 3 m (10 feet) from the line of this bulkhead projected vertically. In
addition to this separation, there must be insulation to Class A60 standard as defined in
46 CFR 72.05-10(a)(1) if the machinery space is one of Category A unless the only
Class 1 (explosive) materials carried are in Division 1.4S (explosive).
(4) Where Class 1 (explosive) materials are stowed away from bulkheads bounding any
accommodation space or machinery space, the intervening space may be filled with
cargo that is not readily combustible.
(f) Under deck stowage of Class 1 (explosive) materials allocated stowage
categories 09 and 10:
(1) These Class 1 (explosive) materials must not be stowed in the same compartment
or hold with other cargo that is readily combustible (such as items packaged in straw).
(2) The position of stowage of these Class 1 (explosive) materials must be such as to
maintain direct access to the hatchway by not overstowing with other cargo except for
other Class 1 (explosive) materials.
(3) In all cases, all cargo within the compartment or hold, including Class 1 (explosive)
materials stowed in cargo transport units, must be secured so as to eliminate the
possibility of significant movement. Where an entire deck is used as a magazine, the
stowage must be so arranged that the Class 1 (explosive) materials stowed therein
must be removed from the ship before working any cargo in any decks above or below
the space in the same hold.

Q.4.

Material safety data sheet

A Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) is a document that gives detailed

information about the nature of a chemical, such as physical and chemical
properties, health, safety, fire, and environmental hazards of a chemical product.
In addition to giving information about the nature of a chemical, an MSDS also tells how to
work safely with a chemical and what to do if there is an accidental spill.
The Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Hazard Communication
Standard
(29 CFR 1910.1200) requires manufacturers or distributors of chemicals to issue Material Safety
Data
Sheets (MSDSs) with the first shipment of any hazardous chemical product, and the employer is
responsible for having them available for you.
They are designed for:
workers who may be exposed to hazardous materials
emergency personnel (for example, firefighters),
who may have to clean up a spill or release
MSDSs must contain the same basic kinds of information, such as
Chemical Identity: Name of the product.
Manufacturers Information: Name, address, phone number and emergency phone
number of the manufacturer.
Hazardous Ingredients/Identity Information: List of hazardous chemicals.
Depending on the state, the list may contain all chemicals even if they are not
hazardous, or only those chemicals which have OSHA standards. Since chemicals
are often known by different names, all common (trade) names should be listed.
The OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) for each hazardous ingredient must
be listed.

MSDSs must contain the same basic kinds of information, such as

Chemical Identity: Name of the product.
Manufacturers Information: Name, address, phone number and emergency phone
number of the manufacturer.
Hazardous Ingredients/Identity Information: List of hazardous chemicals.
Depending on the state, the list may contain all chemicals even if they are not
hazardous, or only those chemicals which have OSHA standards. Since chemicals
are often known by different names, all common (trade) names should be listed.
The OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) for each hazardous ingredient must
be listed.

As an employer, do I have responsibilities for MSDSs?

Yes. Employers must make sure that all controlled products have an up-to-date (less than
three years old) MSDS when it enters the workplace. The MSDSs must be readily available
to the workers who are exposed to the controlled product and to the health and safety
committee or representative. If a controlled product is made in the workplace, the employer
has a duty to prepare an MSDS for any of these products.
Employers may computerize the MSDS information as long as all employees have access to
and are trained on how to use the computer, the computers are kept in working order, and
that the employer makes a hard copy of the MSDS available to the employee or safety and
health committee/representative upon request.