O-129 Changes to United Nations Test Series 7 for Hazard Division 1.6 Explosive Articles

United Nations Test Series 7 (UN TS7) is used to classify explosive articles into Hazard Division 1.6 (HD 1.6). During the past two years, a UN Informal Working Group (IWG) chaired by the United Kingdom has been reviewing and proposing changes to TS 7 and to the UN hazard classification recommendations associated with such extremely insensitive articles. One aim of the UN endeavour has been to provide appropriate relief from the existing criteria that currently severely restricts the size of the explosive article population with the potential to qualify for assignment to HD 1.6, so TS 7 is more relevant and useable. Another aim has been to further harmonize TS 7 article testing with NATO Insensitive Munitions (IM) testing that military munitions are routinely subjected to. All this has to be accomplished without compromising the existing ‘negligible’ risk associated with HD 1.6 extremely insensitive articles.

This paper describes the issues identified within the UN IWG's activities and details the changes which have been made in the UN "Orange Book," along with the rationales for such modifications. The paper also includes some perspectives on the need to undertake further work within the UN to review, and potentially adjust, the extremely insensitive substance tests that are also a key component of UN TS 7.