B777 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 218; Flight Crew Total 13530; Flight Crew Type 3984
Communication Breakdown
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Hazardous Material Violation; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General Work Refused
Human Factors
I was the Captain on Aircraft X. Upon arrival at the aircraft our planned DG [Dangerous Goods] manifest showed 54 LBS of explosives in 7 packages. I queried Dispatch who patched in the DG personnel. I asked them exactly what were we carrying. They could only tell me that the items were the least dangerous explosives (an oxymoron if I've ever heard one); that the amount was right at the limit of what could be carried and that the explosives were the only type of explosives [company] would carry. Yet with all that information; they still could not tell me what exactly we were carrying. In the interest of safety; I had the cargo removed. We departed on time.
B777 Captain reported refusing Dangerous Goods cargo due to Dispatch having no knowledge of what type of DG it was.