A corrosive substance that causes full-thickness skin destruction within an observation period of up to 14 days, after an exposure of more than 3 minutes but less than 60 minutes, is assigned to which packaging group?

• A. Class 8 Packing Group 2
• B. Class 8 Packing Group 3
• C. Class 9
• D. Class 7

Answer: (A)

Class 8 packaging groups are set by how severe the corrosive effect is. Here, the substance causes full‑thickness skin destruction within up to 14 days after an exposure longer than 3 minutes but shorter than 60 minutes. That level of corrosivity is significant but not the most extreme, so it fits Packaging Group II (moderate hazard) for corrosives. Packaging Group I would be for the most dangerous, while Packaging Group III covers less dangerous corrosives. The other options refer to entirely different hazard classes (for example, Class 7 is radioactive materials and Class 9 is miscellaneous dangerous goods), so they aren’t appropriate for a corrosive.