Carriage of dangerous goods

When transported dangerous goods need to be packaged correctly as laid out in the various international and national regulations for each mode of transport to ensure that they are carried safely to minimise the risk of an incident. There are four different modes of transport which dangerous goods are carried: road, rail, sea and air.

However, transporting goods by road or rail involves the risk of traffic accidents. If the goods carried are dangerous, eg. petrol or chemicals, there is also the risk of an incident, such as spillage of the goods, causing hazards such as fire, explosion, chemical burn or environmental damage. For this reason there are regulations which deal with the transport of dangerous goods. Their aim is to minimise the risk of spillage etc. but, if spillages do occur, to make it easier for the emergency services to deal with them. The regulations place a duty upon those involved in the carriage of dangerous goods to ensure that they know about the measures needed to minimise such risks. Table 1 shows some abbreviations for various regulations applying to the transport of dangerous goods.

Most goods are not considered sufficiently dangerous to need special precautions during transport. However, some goods have properties which mean they could present a danger while being carried, such as explosive, toxic, corrosive or flammable substances. If you wish to carry such goods, you need to identify the hazards first. This process is called classification.

Dangerous goods should be packaged so that they do not escape during handling and carriage. The packages used should be suitable and adequate.

Table 1- Abbreviations for regulations applying to the transport of dangerous goods

This means that they must be able to withstand the normal conditions of transport (such as vibration, humidity, pressure or heavy braking), or the normal stresses of handling during loading and unloading, so that the risk of leakage is minimised.

Dangerous goods in packages need to be labeled according to their classification. Labels should be clearly visible so that everyone involved is aware of the potential hazards.

For rail transport, if you are an operator of a container, tank container, tank wagon or wagon, you should make sure that the operator of a train, which is to carry dangerous goods, is provided with the necessary carriage information about those goods. Train operators, in turn, need to pass the information to the infrastructure controller on whose railway the goods are to be carried.

Any vehicle, container, tank or wagon used to carry dangerous goods should be suitable for the purpose. For example, some dangerous goods (radioactive materials) are allowed to be carried in tanks. Carriage in bulk is the carriage of solid dangerous goods without packaging.

If a vehicle carrying dangerous goods is involved in any sort of accident or incident, the appropriate emergency action needs to be taken. Drivers must follow the emergency instructions provided and, if necessary, notify the emergency services by the quickest and safest method.