News
JIEDDO Joins IME Efforts to Obtain an Internationally Harmonized Standard for Explosives Track/Trace Markings and Recordkeeping
06/09/2013
IME is honored to have the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) in its delegation at the UN Subcommittee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (TDG) 43rd session later this month. TDG is the international organization that develops and maintains the UN Model Regulations and the UN Test Manual that form the basis for hazardous materials transport regulations around the world. IME participates in the work of the TDG as a non-governmental observer (NGO).
Recently, the European Union and other international authorities have adopted requirements for marking of explosives devices and packages to facilitate tracking and tracing of recovered lost or stolen explosives to their last legal owner. This information can be crucial to law enforcement efforts to deter criminal use of explosives. While supportive of these requirements, IME is concerned that these unilateral requirements are divergent in several aspects, especially the meaning of the markings that may be required. IME believes that this effort would be enhanced if an internationally harmonized system were developed and adopted by law enforcement around the world.
Before such a system can be developed, an international forum must be identified that can take on this work and obtain international acceptance and implementation of the resulting harmonized system. Because the TDG is a recognized leader in developing internationally harmonized and accepted regulations, and because TDG already addresses the security of hazardous materials in Chapter 1.4 of the Model Regulations, IME has submitted an informal document to the TDG's 43rd session requesting that the TDG take on this effort in its work plan or, if that is not possible, to assist IME in determining what international forum might be best to direct this request to.
Such a harmonized system is also a crucial element in the efforts to eliminate threats coming from improvised explosives devices. Because this is so important in this effort, JIEDDO has offered a representative from its ranks to join the IME delegation to the 43rd session of the TDG later this month. IME is pleased to welcome Col. Daniel Vasenko of JIEDDO to its delegation and looks forward to his contributions at the 43rd session as we continue our efforts towards development of an internationally harmonized system for explosives traceability markings.
Other members of the IME delegation to the 43rd Session are David Boston, IME’s UN Safety Consultant, Noel Hsu of Orica USA, and Tim Golian of Hunting Titan. Noel, Tim, and Dan will be assisting David as subject matter experts. IME’s informal paper on explosives traceability markings, UN/SCETDG/43/INF.18, may be obtained at:
http://www.unece.org/trans/main/dgdb/dgsubc3/c3inf43.html.