A captain's responsibility for dangerous goods.
As someone that tried hard but failed to get a passenger's private lifejacket allowed on a flight, I'm bewildered by the label on today's post.
The box - just big enough for the plastic 1ltr bottle - arrived today by 48 hour post. The bottle contains Isopropanol alcohol - marked as highly inflammable. It was checked/ticked as Medicines. A square rotated at 45degrees with a white band displayed a big Y.
At the top ID8000 Consumer commodity Permitted in the UK Domestic Mail Only. Though I was offered a faster delivery.
The statement beside a similar square with vertical stripes in the top half says:
"Exempt from requirements for dangerous goods transport document (shipper's declaration or dangerous goods note), air transport acceptance check and notification to pilot in command (NOTOC). Overpacking by the sender not permitted."
On the bottle. Danger H224 Extremely flammable liquid and vapour. Followed by eye, breathing and dizziness warnings.
A lifejacket certified for helicopter use refused because of the minute speck of chemistry in the battery, while up to 1ltr of this stuff can be posted in frail plastic. The wording as far as I can tell says they are exempt from advising the pilot.
Is it me, or are we really losing the plot?