Truck and Track Spring 2021

www.truckandtrack.com Spring 2021 Truck and Track 63 DANGEROUS GOODS The dangerous goods (DG) regulations for all modes of transport have evolved over the years, and many of the changes have come about as a result of incidents. The rules, therefore, are not there just for the sake of it - they have been drafted to improve safety in the supply chain. For road shipments in the UK, the application of the Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR) is applied under the Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations (CDG), which includesmanyUK-specific derogations and exceptions. It is imperative that operators use the current regulations - the 2021 edition of ADR is in use now and will become mandatory from 1st July. ADR 2021 is available as regular bound or spiral bound manuals and in the form of a USB drive. There is a choice of combos and offers on the Labeline website where you can also download the UK Derogations, CDG 2009, CDG 2011 and the new CDG 2020. Many consignors and vehicle operators can take advantage of the Limited Quantity (LQ) and Excepted Quantity (EQ) exemptions which enable certain specified amounts of many dangerous goods to be transported outside the full scope of the regulations. These thresholds are tabulated in the new 5th edition of Labeline’s Exemptions Guide to the CDG Regulations . This useful guidebook can help facilitate savings by avoiding many of the extra costs of meeting the requirements of CDG. These costs include the need for additional staff training, the premium paid for employing ADR qualified drivers and the use of ADR approved vehicles. In the UK, the regulations for road are enforced primarily by the Police, DVSA and HSE. These bodies, together with DfT and industry experts, are represented at the CDG Practitioners Forum. This group usually meets bi-annually andhas the aimof working together to make the carriage of dangerous goods safer. At the time of an incident, and when on exercises, the blue light services often refer to the Emergency Action Code List , a publication that details what actions to take when dealing with an emergency involving dangerous goods. The 2021 EAC Code has been recently been published by NCEC and is made available through Labeline. Policing Vice-chair of the forum, PS Jason Dearsley, highlights what officers are looking for when out on patrol: “As enforcers, we often use the overall condition of the transport unit to start to paint a picture (a Coppers nose if you will!). Placarding and labelling provides a very visual indicator as to whether the driver and company are concerned about compliance with ADR. If they are not checking and ensuring compliance on something so relatively simple to correct, then we ask ourselves what else ‘lurks beneath the surface’? These labels and placards are there to keep anyoneworking in and around the dangerous goods safe and helps to protect the blue light services should we be called upon to protect lives and the environment.” This emphasises the importance of using compliant hazard labels and placards that have been tested for adhesion and durability to show that they will withstand the rigours of transport. Shippers and transporters are strongly advised to purchase their labels and placards from a reputable DG compliance specialist. When a vehicle is stopped by enforcement officers, closer inspection often uncovers other misdemeanours. The graph below shows the categories of offences relating to DG that operators have been prosecuted for during the threemonths to August 2020 - the latest published statistics*. The most common failing is inadequate/ missing equipment such as insufficient or out of date fire extinguishers. Strikingly though, nearly a third of the prosecutions were for incomplete, incorrect, or missing DG documentation on board vehicles! It is recognised by the agencies that, as a result of poor or missing documentation, drivers and emergency responders “will not be able to deal with incidents safely, leading to an increase in risk to the public.” Documentation The documents referred to are usually either the Dangerous Goods Note (DGN) or the Labeline’s Compliance Manager Richard Shreeve How Software is making Dangerous Goods Shipments Safer Richard Shreeve, Compliance Manager at Labeline International, explains howDGOffice improves safety, increases efficiency, saves money and reduces the risk of delays Labeline’s ADR 2021 Spiral with laptop bag offer ROGER WRAPSON th Edition A Guide to Exemptions from the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road 5 Exemptions_Guide_5th_ed.indd 1 09/12/2020 11:21