It’s crucial to understand the international directives and regulations you must follow, the hazards of transporte de productos químicos and how to avoid them, and the best practices for moving chemicals both on and off-site if you wish to move chemicals safely. A robust legislative infrastructure is required to reduce the risk of accidents occurring while transporting hazardous substances, as such transportation can pose significant financial, environmental, and health risks. Following is a list of international regulations and directives that govern road, rail, sea, and air carriage of dangerous goods:
- The ADR, a European agreement, regulates the transporte de productos químicos of dangerous goods by road.
- Following Appendix C of the Convention Covering International Carriage by Rail, hazardous substances must be transported internationally by rail. The U.K.’s regulatory framework is governed by The Carriage of Dangerous Goods and the Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2009.
- Dangerous goods are transported by sea under the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG).
- ICAO Technical Instructions are a set of internationally agreed rules based on the Dangerous Goods Regulations published by IATA.
Knowing the rules and regulations for dangerous goods is just the beginning. In addition to knowing the specific hazards involved with chemical transportation, you need to incorporate best practices that make it less likely that something goes wrong on-site and off-site chemical transport.
Transportation Hazards for Chemicals
- A chemical transportation accident can result in several possible hazards, and according to the United Nations, dangerous goods are classified as follows:
- When transported, explosives can cause explosions, as they are natural explosives.
- The danger of gases is that they can cause fires or poisoning, depending on whether they are flammable or toxic.
- Liquids that easily catch fire can cause significant damage to buildings and the environment or potentially cause injuries and fatalities to individuals.
- There are several types of flammable solids, some of which can spontaneously ignite and others of which can form flammable gases when in contact with water.
- Combustible materials can ignite spontaneously without an obvious ignition source using oxidizing chemicals, accelerating flame development, making the fire more intense, or increasing fire intensity.
- Infectious and toxic chemicals are two types of toxic substances.
- Radioactive spills can adversely impact people and ecosystems.
- Health hazards associated with corrosive materials include burns to the skin, eyes, and respiratory tract.
Many people and the environment get hurt when hazardous goods go through the air because of explosions, fires, toxic leaks, radioactive spills, and inhalation of corrosive substances. No matter if we’re moving chemicals between laboratories or countries, chemical transportation must be safe.
