Dry Ice Courier

Dry ice is the one dangerous good where the usual instinct is exactly wrong. With most regulated cargo the aim is containment; with dry ice, a sealed package is the hazard. Solid carbon dioxide sublimates at about -78°C and a single kilogram produces roughly half a cubic metre of gas, so an airtight container becomes a pressure vessel and a sealed vehicle becomes an asphyxiation risk. The regulatory position also splits in a way that surprises people: under ADR special provision 593, dry ice used purely for cooling something else is not subject to the regulations at all, while dry ice carried as cargo in its own right is UN1845 in Class 9. Air transport regulates it in both cases. T&C Logistics carries both versions, in ventilated vehicles, with the quantity declared because the quantity is what sets the handling.

Is dry ice regulated on the road?

It depends on why it is there. ADR special provision 593 takes dry ice used for cooling purposes outside the regulations, so a cold-chain consignment packed with dry ice as its refrigerant is not an ADR load because of the dry ice. Dry ice carried as cargo — because the dry ice itself is what the customer ordered — is UN1845 in Class 9.

This is the single most common misunderstanding we are asked about, and it usually arrives via air freight. Air transport regulates dry ice in both cases, with its own quantity limits and marking, so a shipper used to air rules expects road to work the same way and it does not. Tell us which case yours is at the enquiry and the right regime is applied rather than the stricter one by default.

Why must the package not be airtight?

Because sublimation does not stop. Solid carbon dioxide turns directly to gas at about -78 °C, and a kilogram yields roughly half a cubic metre of gas at room temperature — in a sealed container that is pressure with nowhere to go.

So the packaging requirement is the reverse of most dangerous goods: the container must allow gas to vent while still insulating. A purpose-made dry-ice shipper does this; a domestic cool box with a sealing lid and clips does not, and a screw-top drum certainly does not. We supply no packaging, so this is your preparation — and it is the one we check hardest before loading, because a vented package is the difference between a routine job and an incident.

What is the actual hazard in the vehicle?

Asphyxiation, not fire. Carbon dioxide is heavier than air, displaces oxygen, and accumulates at floor level in an unventilated space — which is why the vehicle matters as much as the package.

The practical measures are simple and not negotiable: a ventilated load space, no dry ice in a sealed body, and no dry ice carried in the cab with the driver. On a longer run the driver does not enter the load space in an enclosed yard without the doors open first. Those are operating rules rather than paperwork, and they are the reason a general courier who has not thought about dry ice is the wrong carrier for it even where the paperwork says they could.

How much dry ice will survive the journey?

Less than most senders plan for, and the figure is yours rather than ours. Sublimation rate depends on the quantity, the shipper's insulation, the ambient temperature and how often the package is opened, and the only reliable source is your own validation for that packaging.

What we can do is reduce the variables. A dedicated vehicle means the package is handled twice rather than at every hub, the run is planned as a single leg, and on a multi-drop we sequence the stops so the dry-ice consignment is first rather than last. If you need a hold-time figure for a risk assessment, take it from your packaging data and tell us the limit — that limit is what we plan the run against, and if the journey cannot be made inside it we will say so rather than take the booking.

Who sends dry ice, and what for?

Laboratories and research sites moving deep-frozen samples, clinical trial logistics, pharmaceutical and biotech shippers, food producers moving ice cream and frozen product, and occasionally events and film production using it for effects.

The split that matters commercially is between those sending dry ice as a refrigerant — the large majority — and those buying dry ice as a product, where the dry ice is the cargo and the UN1845 entry applies. The first group usually wants a deep-frozen cold chain and should read temperature-controlled transport alongside this page; the second wants a straightforward Class 9 collection.

Can you carry dry ice with a deep-frozen consignment?

Yes, and that is the commonest version of the job. We run chilled at 2-8 °C, ambient controlled at 15-25 °C, frozen at -18 °C and below, and deep-frozen on dry ice for material that needs to go lower than mechanical refrigeration reaches.

Two points. The dry ice supplements rather than replaces the vehicle's own refrigeration decision — a deep-frozen sample set in a dry-ice shipper does not need the compartment at -18 °C, but it does need the compartment ventilated. And the quantity of dry ice has to be on the booking as well as the product, because it determines the ventilation and the handling. See lab specimens and IVF embryos for the clinical cases.

What happens at the delivery end?

Somebody has to receive it, and they need gloves. Dry ice at about -78 °C causes cold burns on brief skin contact, so the handover is not a doorstep drop — and a consignment left in a porch is both a safety problem and a package that will be empty of coolant by the time anyone opens it.

So we deliver to a named person with a signed, timestamped record, and where nobody is available the consignment holds or returns and you are told which. Two things worth confirming at booking: that the receiving site has somewhere ventilated to put the package, and that whoever opens it knows there is dry ice inside. A laboratory knows; a general goods-in desk receiving a shipper for the first time frequently does not, and a line on the booking saves that conversation happening at the wrong moment.

Can you collect dry ice from a supplier for us?

Yes, and it is a sensible way to handle a one-off requirement rather than holding stock that sublimates away. We collect from the producer or distributor against your order and deliver to your site, or straight to wherever the cooled consignment is being packed.

Two practical points. Order the quantity for the time it is needed rather than the volume that seems convenient, because the clock starts at the supplier's door, not yours — a day's delay costs you product rather than money. And give us a collection reference the supplier's counter will recognise, because dry ice is usually made to order and a driver arriving without one waits while it is produced. Where the dry ice is the cargo rather than a refrigerant, remember it is UN1845 and the quantity goes on the paperwork.

What vehicle does a dry ice consignment need?

A ventilated one, which is the first filter, and otherwise the smallest that takes the shipper. Dry ice loads are usually light and compact, so neither weight nor volume binds.

What does dry ice transport cost?

From £50 (ex VAT) for the smallest dedicated job, quoted as one fixed price before you book. Final price depends on distance, vehicle, urgency and time - quoted in full upfront before you book.

What insurance and credentials apply, and how do I book?

Goods-in-transit cover of £50,000 per consignment, extending to £1,000,000 through partner carriers where the value requires it, plus public liability of £1,000,000. Limits and exclusions are in our terms, and consequential loss is excluded — so the cover responds to the consignment, not to a sample set that warmed up.

Held: ADR vocational training certificates at driver level, Driver CPC, an Operator's Licence, GDPR compliance, Environment Agency upper tier waste registration CBDU654368 and a ULEZ-compliant fleet. Not held: we have no Dangerous Goods Safety Adviser appointment of our own, and we are not an MHRA-licensed wholesale dealer. T&C Logistics Ltd is Companies House number 16838210; the list is on our licences page.

1. Call 0121 720 3841 for the office or +44 7963 400173 for dispatch. Enquiries are taken around the clock and answered between 06:00 and 22:00, seven days a week.
2. Say whether the dry ice is cooling something else or is itself the cargo — that decides the regime.
3. Give the quantity of dry ice in kilograms as well as the product weight.
4. Confirm the package is a vented shipper, not a sealing cool box or a screw-top container.
5. Tell us your validated hold time so we can say whether the journey fits inside it.
6. Accept the fixed price and a driver from our 3,000-plus network is assigned, ADR-certificated where the load is cargo.

Related: lab specimens, medical samples, frozen food, temperature-controlled transport and clinical trial courier. Or request a quote online. Google Reviews rating 5.0★.