Since the adoption of the UN recommendations on the transport of dangerous goods there has been a leap in the technology towards manufacturing containers of thinner gauge steel. The majority of new drum manufacturers have argued that they can achieve the same performance levels with thinner materials. Apparently, according to J.K. Rowling in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," a similar controversy has been brewing in another industry. In Europe, the Department of International Magical Co-Operation (DIMC) has been working on standardizing cauldron metal thickness. It appears that foreign imports of cauldrons have led to an increase in the number of leakage incidents (a 3% annual increase). The British Legislators and cauldron manufacturers are becoming more and more concerned that unless minimum thickness requirements are imposed the market might well end up being flooded with "flimsy, shallow bottomed products that present serious hazards….." (Page 56). Given this divine performance parallel, container manufacturers could use the DIMC‘s 3% increase in leakage as evidence of their own arguments that thinner containers leak more frequently. The containers are essentially very similar, although one type is used for chemicals, the other for potions.
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