Emergency action on dangerous chemicals
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ID The day before a woman died from tcid burns after a tanker had been involved n an accident on the M6, the Government Lad been pressed to take action about the arriage of dangerous chemicals by road. Mr Leslie Huckfield (Labour. Nuneaton) aid in the Commons that so many new angerous chemicals were coming onto the aarket that the only really satisfactory olution to the problem was a 24-hour mergency telephone service.
He urged the Government to accept the .ritish Safety Council's. offer to provide this !rvice,
Mr David Lane, under Secretary at the tome Office, accepted that this was a very :rious and important matter. Mr Huckfield • as doing a little less than justice to the rogress already made in extending mtrols, and the Government wanted to [tend them more.
On the point of the 24-hour service, said b. Lane, he had been in touch with the hemical Industries Association recently id it had undertaken to complete its quiry and consultations as quickly as
Mr Huckfield later received a reply from r Lane to a written question asking if the ome Secretary was satisfied with iergency arrangements for accidents volving road vehicles carrying dangerous chemicals.
Mr Lane said that controls over the conveyance of dangerous substances by road were systematically being extended, as quickly as practicable, to additional classes of dangerous chemicals.
Meanwhile, interim arrangements had been made whereby the emergency services could, in case of need, obtain information on how to deal with substances about which specific guidance had not been issued.