www.truckandtrack.com Summer 2025 Truck and Track 67 DANGEROUS GOODS Although known familiarly as the Kemler system, there is no mention whatsoever of his name in RID or ADR. Kemler Placard for Resin Solution (UN 1866) Professor Kemler’s system envisaged a plate to be shown, initially on tanks but now extended to bulk, in which an HIN is shown in the upper part and the UN number in the lower. The HIN explains more about the dangers of the dangerous goods being carried by indicating: ■ the extent to which a substance may be flammable, toxic, corrosive, etc. ■ subsidiary dangers. ■ the risk of violent reaction of a substance or mixture becoming in contact with water. RS: In practice, what does these mean? For example, we have different placarding requirements in the UK for bulk shipments – how would these be handled for exports? CR: The EAC codes and the Hazchem system is not recognised outside the UK (apart from Australia, Malaysia and New Zealand), so Kemler placards are often seen in the UK on vehicles being used for international road and rail transport under ADR and RID. RS: CDG and ADR have different emergency codes. What do these codes mean? CR: CDG: The EAC’s shown on the Hazchem placards consist of a two or three-character code that must be displayed on all Great Britain-registered road and rail vehicles that carry dangerous goods in tanks or in bulk on domestic journeys within the UK. Reference chart for UK Hazchem Guide EACs provide a quick assessment to the emergency services of what actions should be taken during an incident. The fire and police services use the specific characters and numbers to determine which actions may be necessary, during the first few minutes of an incident involving dangerous goods. The idea behind the EACs is that emergency responders, especially the fire service, carry a small card with them known as the “Hazchem Scale Card” that translates the EACs into immediate action to be taken at the scene of an incident until specialist advice and help can be obtained. EACs are characterised by a single number (1–4) and either one or two letters (depending on the hazard). The number in the EAC indicates a suitable fire-fighting method in ascending order of preference. ■ Coarse water spray is signalled with 1. ■ Fine water spray is signalled with 2. ■ Normal foam is signalled with 3. ■ Dry agent is signalled with 4. The EACs list occasionally shows an EAC to have a (dot) before the 2 or 3. The dot is not shown on the vehicle plates, only in the published list. ■ Alcohol resistant foam is signalled with 2, but if not available use fine water spray. ■ Alcohol resistant foam is signalled with 3, but if not available normal foam can be used. The first letter indicates: ■ whether the substance or mixture is liable to be violently reactive (shown by P, S, W or Y). ■ the extent of personal protective clothing and the equipment needed in order to approach the scene (liquid-tight suits, shown by P, R, W or X, or BA and fire kit, shown by S, T, Y or Z). ■ whether the spillage needs to be contained, or whether the substance or mixture can be diluted with water. It should be noted that the dilution advice does not necessarily accord with protection of the environment considerations so that even if dilution is attempted, the diluted substance or mixture should not normally be allowed to run off into the soil, drainage systems or water courses. The second letter, if any is used, is “E”. This used to stand for “Evacuate” but is now interpreted as “Public Safety Hazard”, with people being warned to stay indoors with all doors and windows closed, preferably in rooms upstairs and facing away from the incident. Ignition sources should be eliminated and any ventilation stopped. As the effects could spread beyond the immediate vicinity, all non-essential personnel should be instructed to move, for example, at least 250m away from the incident. Evacuation may need to be considered after consultation with the incident control, police and product expert, but in most cases staying inside buildings will be the safer course of action. The EACs list also provides codes for additional personal protection (APP) which are not shown on the vehicle placards. The EAC Code list is available from www.labeline.com
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