Cleveland sets routes
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by Guy Sheppard • Nearly 20 hauliers in the North-East of England are helping to pioneer a new code of conduct for the transport of hazardous chemicals.
The scheme involves confining tankers to designated routes and parking areas and setting up a hotline to handle complaints about drivers who ignore the restrictions.
It is being backed by Cleveland County Council and chemical suppliers as well as hauliers, and may be adopted nationally if successful.
The launch yesterday (6 December) took place nearly a year after hundreds of people were evacuated from the centre of Stockton-on-Tees when a parked tanker containing cryselic acid began to leak.
That incident, which left several people in hospital, triggered calls for the new code.
Andy Hyams, traffic manager for Cleveland County Council, says the designated routes will be indicated by a new traffic sign. "When carriers enter the county there will be an extra large sign telling carriers to follow the new signs and leave at the exit nearest to their destination," he explains. "If companies which sign up to the code persistently ignore it they will have their certificates of membership withdrawn and that will obviously mean bad publicity."
Hyams adds that participants will not be allowed to park in streets or public car parks—chemical manufacturers and storage companies are being encouraged to provide alternative parking.
A map of the designated routes, with the location of 93 industrial sites in the county, is available from Hyams on 01642 262670.