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Living dangerously
Page 16
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New dangerous goods regulations come into force this week. But what are the changes and what do they mean for operators? Jennifer Ball investigates.
New regulations on the carriage of dangerous goods by road and rail will cost UK operators 1360m over the next 10 years, the Health and Safety Executive estimates.
The new Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2004 will consolidate over 12 sets of current regulations. They will also bring the UK into line with the rest of the EU in respect of certain transport operations involving local journeys or the movement of dangerous goods in small quantities. Prepare for 10 May
The Health and Safety Commission outlined its final proposals last month, giving operators just two weeks to prepare for their implementation on 10 May.
John Hix, dangerous goods safety adviser for the Freight Transport Association, warns that the new regulations will affect many operators who do not currently consider themselves to be working in the hazgoods sector. Changes to package-size thresh
olds even require carriers of some household-type goods such as aerosols to consider the application of the regulations.
Hix warns of another major change. Under current UK rules flammable liquids with a flashpoint of above 61°C do not come under dangerous goods regulations. But the new ADR rules push the threshold to the higher level of 100°C, meaning that firms carrying fuel oils such as diesel, gas and heating oil with a flashpoint of 61-100°C will now be classed as handling dangerous goods.
This means they will have to provide dangerous goods training for staff — and they will have to appoint dangerous goods safety advisers. "There will be benefits for operators who have multiple sites across the European Union as they will be able to work under one set of harmonised rules," says Hix. "However, for the domestic operator there is little benefit, just more legislation to comply with — and a huge bill."
The cost of compliance Neil Griffiths, TNT's director of health and safety, says that the firm already has to meet these standards on the Continent so it won't be a problem in the UK. "But it has been a significant expense as we have had to train more drivers to carry dangerous goods as well as dangerous goods specialists at all our depots," he adds. "We have also had to equip our vehicles with fire extinguishers, orange plates and other specialist equipment. "In addition we have had to upgrade our IT infrastructure to
ensure that vehicles are loaded correctly, and educate our customers about the changes." But Les Philpot, head of division within the HSE's policy group for transport,says the new regulations are a tremendous step forward in simplifying the framework of rules on dangerous goods trans port: "The direct referencing of ADR recognises the arguments put to us. This approach will make it far simpler for those moving dangerous goods domestically and internationally [as they can] follow one set of rules.And future consultation will become a more straightforward process." • The new regulations The main changes brought about by the regulations include: • New limited quantity and load thresholds for transporting dangerous goods • Packaging requirements now based on ADR • The transport of diesel, gas oil and heating oil will be coming into scope • New reporting requirements • The phasing out of the "competent person" periodic inspection regime for transportable pressure equipment by 1 July 2006