Truck and Track Summer 2021

Truck and Track Summer 2021 www.truckandtrack.com 46 DANGEROUS GOODS With the political decoupling of the UK from Mainland Europe due to the Brexit vote, wewill seemore inward Chemicals come from outside of European manufacturing plants/warehouses, especially from South East Asia and Northern/South American continents. This will put pressure on our already close to capacity warehousing that canmanage Dangerous Goods. As a consignor, looking to move into warehousing/logistics of Dangerous Goods, it is important that you check your warehousing contractor to ensure your own compliance with statutory regulations. The advent of Covid has resulted in larger volumes of chemicals required for cleaning surfaces, hand washes and disinfectants, sanitary material. These bulk chemicals [Chlorine, Oxygen/ Hydroxide and Alcoholic based materials require movement and storage before controlled dilution/formulating/blending]. Much of the raw material’s active ingredients may fall under ADR/IMDG as well as COMAH regulations. We’re talking Class 3 [Flammable], Class 5.1 [Oxidising], Class 5.2 [Organic Peroxides], Class 8 [Corrosive] and Class 9 [Miscellaneous and Environmental hazards] as the main groups in chemical countermeasures against Covid. It is predicted that there will be critical shortages in compliant warehousing able to handle these materials in the UK. This is because as the supply chains move further away from Europe, becoming increasing trans-continental - more consignors will be looking for UK warehousing space, fromwhich these rawmaterials can be stored before blending and formulating into non-ADR/retail cleaning materials, such as the gels and wipes we smear on the handles of our grocery baskets, or working surfaces to destroy this ubiquitous virus. “The RumDeal” As ever I have an amusing, and informative anecdote to preface the article. I spent time at sea as a chemicals’ inspector and cargo surveyor when I was a young chemist. There was much waiting around dock berths, as well as in cabins where I met many interesting [and some not so interestingmariners]. One time, I foundmyself on a Burmese vessel, traversing the Arabian gulf. The chief officer was a man with an unpronounceable name and a hearty smile. He came to my cabin, feeling sorry for me, withmy hourly testing of the cargo of an unstable liquid polymer. “For you, Sadiq,” he said passing me a bottle of Dark Rum. “Thank you, friend.” I replied indicating he should join me in a drink. As I had finished my testing for six hours, and the chief officer had finished his shift, we drank the sweet rum neat, and talked and talked. As a clueless young man. I was puzzled at the complexity in the movement of chemicals internationally, by bulk ships around the globe. “Do you know what the first international shipping supply chain was?” The officer from Burma said, holding his glass of Dark Rum to the last light from the porthole. “No.” I said, sipping the Rum. “The first international supply chain that involved shippingwas based on the drink you hold in your hand.” “Rum?” “Yes. The first truly international supply chain startedwith slaveswho were shipped from Africa to the Caribbean to work on the sugar cane plantations. The sugar cane plant was not native to the Caribbean. No, the plant was originally shipped from India and Burma to the west. It grew in the tropical climate better than in Burma and India. It was harvested and while raw, mashed into sugar pulp and syrup.” “And then distilled, after the sugar was converted to alcohol by fermentation.” I replied, as the chemist. “ And that’s where the term RUM-DEAL or RAW-DEAL comes from .” “ Slavery and Raw Sugar for Rum .” Again, I digress, so back on-point. A report has calculated the contribution that chemistry makes to the UK economy and it comes to awhopping £258bn each year. This means that one in every five pounds generated by the UK economy is dependent on research by chemists or the chemical industry. Pete Collings from Oxford Economics, said, “It is not a stretch to Logistics Considerations for the International DG Supply Chain by Ali Karim Ali Karim In this issue, Dangerous Goods Columnist, Ali Karim FRSC CChem provides insight into handling Dangerous Goods in what has become a truly global Supply Chain TRUCK & TRAILER SOLUTIONS WELCOME TO ALLPORTS GROUP allportsgroup.co.uk