Destructive trends
Page 23
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Bob Edgley's letter (CM 25-31 May, page 25) highlights destructive trends affecting our industry and must reflect the concern of those of us who conduct our affairs responsibly and within the law.
There is another, equally destructive force at work— the relentless pursuit of cheapness at all costs. Cheap equipment, cheap maintenance, cheap services, cheap roads and cheap labour, to name but a few. The result is the systematic devaluation and debasement of quality, which is in danger of extinction from lack of demand. So much for BS5750, IS09000, etc. Quality and integrity both cost money.
The root cause is a combination of over supply and lax regulation. Market forces, out of control in a downward 'spiral, threaten the very foundation of our industry. The corporate Reliant Robin becomes a distinct possibility.
If the Stock Market can be self-regulating why not the transport industry? We should either act to stop the rot ourselves or take positive action to ensure that the relevant authority becomes more effective. Time is running out.
G D Mason,
Managing Director GDM Transport Engineering Kings Lynn, Norfolk..
Exploding the myth
"[Tour recent news analysis 1 article (CM1-7 June) on the dangers of transporting anunoniurn nitrate fertiliser through the Channel Tunnel was alarmist and sensationalist. Ammonium nitrate fertiliser is widely used in the UK and France and has a very good safety record. But it, or a dilute form—calcium ammonium nitrate—has been used by terrorists here,
in the USA and in Ireland, where ammonium nitrate has been banned since 1973.
However, it is silly to suggest that because ammonium nitrate fertiliser is one of the many chemicals that terrorists can misuse, it represents an explosive hazard when handled and transported normally It does not. As the HSE correctly states, ammonium nitrate is not an explosive. Were it involved in an accident, as opposed to a terrorist act, the risk would be from fumes if there was a fire.
No doubt the tunnel authorities are well geared up to cope with fire.
If one compares the consequences of a petrol tank rupturing in the tunnel with that of ammonium nitrate being spilt or involved in a fire, it is obvious that Dr Sidney Alford's reasoning is unsound. Transporting petrol through the tunnel would be potentially hazardous: trans
porting ammonium nitrate fertiliser is not. It is unfortunate that Commercial Motor has allowed itself to become involved in Dr Alford's long-running dispute with the HSE.
B Higgs CBE, Fertiliser Manufacturers Association.