4.1 The United Nations Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods in their recommended regulations place materials having a flash point below 23°C (73.5°F) in Packing Group II. However, if viscous substances such as paint and related coatings, adhesives, polishes, etc., meet certain requirements, they can be placed in Group III along with materials having a flash point between 23 and 60.5°C (73.5 and 140°F). One of the requirements is that less than 3 % of clear liquid separates from the bulk of the material when subjected to this test method.

4.2 At the present time most international regulatory bodies such as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) use the U.N. Recommendations. It is anticipated that most national transportation regulatory bodies will adopt the U.N. Recommendations as their regulations for control of transportation of hazardous materials. At present the United States permits the transshipment of hazardous materials through the United States to other countries under regulations of the IMO and ICAO.

1.1 This test method covers the determination of the amount of liquid separated as an upper layer in a 24-h period from viscous solutions or dispersions that contain dispersed solids such as paints, enamels, pigmented lacquers, adhesives, polishes, and other similar materials.

Note 1: The amount of clear liquid that separates during this test is one of the criteria in the United Nations Recommendations on the Transportation of Dangerous Goods2 for the placement of flammable viscous liquids into packing groups related to flash points (See 4.1).

1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the standard. The values given in parentheses are for information only.

1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.