The ISSR includes all the detailed provisions applicable to shipping infectious substances efficiently and safely. Critical shipments that are transported for laboratory tests, being delayed due to non-compliance or other shipping problems could mean a delay to initiating the necessary public health response or identifying the treatment required for a patient.
The ISSR contains documentation and packaging examples, checklists for every step of the process and shipping regulations for air, sea, road, rail, courier and the postal service.
Order the ISSR online
The ISSR is available in English in print and digital formats. All versions are updated annually. Digital products come with automatic updates for the year and a search function that makes finding up-to-date information easy. And, they're cheaper.
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2023/2024 Infectious Substances Shipping Regulations (ISSR)
2023/2024 Infectious Substances Shipping Regulations (ISSR)
What’s inside the ISSR?
- Applicability (legislation, postal authorities, shipper, package supplier and carrier responsibilities, state and vendor variations)
- Classification (UN numbers, classification criteria and scenarios)
- Identification (list of dangerous goods, special provisions)
- Packing (triple packaging, quantity limits, freezing or cooling, certified packing, overpacks, packing instructions)
- Packaging performance tests (performance tests, finding the right packaging)
- Marking and labelling (package use marking)
- Documentation (waybill, how to complete the declaration form, sample documentation by material)
- Handling (acceptance, checklists, refusals)
- Emergency response (contact information, responsibilities, spills, leaks, first aid)
- Training (national requirements, training schools)
- Dangerous goods security (general provisions, training, high consequence provisions, security plans)
Still not sure if the ISSR is for you? Download the full table of contents:
Stay up-to-date
The key changes in the 2021/2022 edition of the Infectious Substances Shipping Guidelines (ISSG) include:
- Addition of a new entry and conditions for solid medical waste containing Category A pathogens
- Update to identify that the mark in the diamond applied to packages containing biological substances, Category B (UN 3373) and genetically modified organisms and microorganisms (GMO, and GMMO) (UN 3245) must be applied on one side of the package
- A change to renumber the packing instruction applicable to medical waste from PI 622 to become PI 621 to align to the number in the UN Model Regulations and to provide for a consistent PI for the new Category A waste. There is a 3-month transition provided during which time the old PI number may be used