Lic. Irma Flores of the Mexican Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transporte (SCT) opened the meeting and welcomed the participants. Representing Canada was Frank Ritchie, and representing the United States were Shane Kelley (DOT/PHMSA) and Francisco Gonzales (DOT/FRA). Also in attendance were representatives from the following Mexican organizations: Nuclear Safety and Safeguards Commission, Department of Interior and Disaster Prevention, the Environmental and Hazardous Materials Management Administration, Civil Aeronautics Commission, Ministry of Defense, and Federal Rail Division. The minutes of the previous Group 5 meeting in Ontario, Canada, were briefly discussed and were noted to have been approved by all three countries and considered final. The USA indicated that the minutes are available on the DOT Hazardous materials web site at http://hazmat.dot.gov/nafta.htm.

During the meeting each country provided an update on their current regulatory initiatives. Canada did not provide a detailed briefing but indicated that their Clear Language Amendment had been finalized. The Clear Language Amendment is available on the internet at http://www.tc.gc.ca/tdg/clear/tofc.htm The US noted that their regulations and proposed rulemakings were available via the internet at http://hazmat.dot.gov/rules.htm. Mexico noted similarly that their standards were available online at

Mexico Regulatory Update

NOM-007 (Marking Requirements for Hazardous Material and Waste Packagings) has been revised to include markings for salvage packagings and is ready for publication as a final rule.

NOM-003 (Labeling Requirements for Hazardous Materials Packagings Used for the Land Transportation of Hazardous Materials and Wastes) will be amended to make primary and subsidiary risk labels the same consistent with current international regulations and the 49 CFR.

NOM-009 (Compatibility for the Storage and Transportation of Class 1 Explosives) has been amended to take into account some comments from their Ministry of Defense and is in an NPRM stage. This NOM addresses certain requirements for explosives.

NOM-010 (Compatibility and Segregation Requirements for the Storage and Transportation of Hazardous Materials and Wastes) regarding segregation has been updated to be consistent with the requirements of the 49 CFR and the UN Model Regulations, 12th Revised Edition.

NOM-020 (Requirements for the Construction of Cargo Tank Vehicles Used for the Transportation of Hazardous Materials and Wastes) has been amended to specify the qualification and testing requirements for SCT 306, SCT 307, and SCT 312 series cargo tanks.

NOM-024 (Requirements for the Construction, Reconditioning and Testing of Hazardous Materials and Waste Packagings) has been revised to take into account salvage package testing. It also specifies that use of reconditioned packages which pass the tests is permitted.

NOM-043 (Requirements for the Transport Document Used for the Transportation of Hazardous Materials and Wastes) is in the process of being revised to take into account the documentation requirements in the UN Model Regulations, 12th Revised Edition. Revisions include allowing an alternative sequence for the elements of the shipping description, specifying the number and types of packagings on shipping papers, and requiring the subsidiary risk to be indicated in the basic description. These revisions are consistent with the 2003-2004 ICAO Technical Instructions and the 2003 IMDG Code, as well as with amendments proposed to the 49 CFR in HM-215 E.

Mexico's Domestic Adoption of Provisions of the ICAO Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air (ICAO TI) and the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG Code)

Mexico indicated that while they already recognize the use of the ICAO TI and IMDG Code, they are working to develop national regulations for air transport of dangerous goods consistent with these international regulations. This will not affect the use of the international regulations for import and export shipments.

Certification of Test Laboratories in Mexico

Mexico indicated that they have approved two additional companies to certify hazardous materials hazardous materials packages in addition to Normex. As indicated in previous Group 5 minutes, Normex has been approved by SCT to certify hazardous materials packagings. The two newly certified companies include Fischer and Visaplast. Fischer and Visaplast however are only certifying their own packagings, and are not authorized as "third party" labs as Normex is.

To date SCT has not approved any U.S. labs to test Mexican-manufactured packages. By law, the approval process requires accreditation by the Mexican Accreditation Entity (EMA) and approval by SCT. EMA indicated during the meeting that they were ready to accredit foreign labs, but SCT indicated that it was still working internally to develop an approval process for these labs. The U.S. pointed out during the meeting that the current situation was detrimental not only to U.S. Test labs but also to Mexican packaging manufacturers, especially considering that Normex, the only approved lab in Mexico, could not handle the industry volume in Mexico. The U.S. emphasize the practicality and importance of mutual recognition of Test labs. Mexico agreed to work with the U.S. to achieve this goal.

North American Model Standard (NAMS)

The group discussed the North American Model Standard (NAMS). The group noted that the work on the NAMS had prompted a closer look at each country's current domestic requirements, most recently with special attention given to requirements for rail transport. The US representative from FRA commented that he had been working closely with Canada to further develop the requirements for rail transport. The US commented that a draft version of the NAMS incorporating provisions for rail transport was under development, and that provisions for highway transport would be the next major task in advancing the draft.

2004 Emergency Response Guidebook

The working group noted that an updated Emergency Response Guidebook would be published in 2004. Mexico stated that it had received many requests for Spanish editions of the Guidebook from other Central and South American countries, and that it had been able to make use of its extra copies of the 1996 edition by providing them to those requesters. The US indicated it would work with Mexico to ensure that copies of the updated Guidebook were available to emergency responders in Mexico, particularly in high traffic areas along the US-Mexico Border.