After a one-year transition period, the Regulations for the Transport of Dangerous Goods, constituting Annex 2 to the Agreement on International Goods Transport by Rail (SMGS), have been mandatory since July 1, 2006. SMGS regulations apply to transport with the Baltic countries (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia) as well as with the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States and other Asian countries, including the People’s Republic of China. Furthermore, national regulations also apply to the transport of these goods, including:
– the Act on the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Rail (Journal of Laws 2004, No. 97, item 962),
– the Atomic Law Act (Journal of Laws 2004, No. 161, item 1689 – consolidated text),
– the Act on International Waste Shipment (Journal of Laws 2004, No. 191, item 1956).
The new regulations on the transport of dangerous goods, issued by the Organization for Cooperation of Railways (OSJD), consist of 7 parts containing: general provisions, classification of dangerous goods, lists of dangerous goods (Tables A and B), provisions concerning packaging and tanks, dispatch procedures, requirements for the construction and testing of packaging, including tanks, and provisions on transport conditions. Part 1 of these regulations defines their scope of application, contains many technical and legal definitions in alphabetical order, units of measurement, and indicates the responsibilities of transport participants regarding safety.
The primary duty of the consignor of dangerous goods is to provide a shipment for transport that meets the requirements of Annex 2 to the SMGS, including in terms of packaging, loading into a wagon or container, and labeling of the cargo (point 1.4.2.1). The rail carrier, upon accepting these goods for transport, should ensure, among other things, that these goods are permitted for transport, that the documents have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the SMGS agreement, and also ensure that current warning labels and markings relevant during transport are affixed. It is the consignee’s duty to accept the shipment and remove the labels from the wagon and container. In Part 2 of the provisions of Annex 2 to the SMGS, the classification of dangerous goods is provided along with its principles and adopted criteria. All dangerous goods have also been assigned to one of 9 classes: Dangerous goods posing a specific hazard have been covered by a specific class title based on their physical, chemical, and physiological properties. Furthermore, materials, with the exception of those assigned to classes 1, 2, 5.2, 6.2, and 7, as well as self-reactive substances of class 4.1, are assigned to packing groups based on the criterion of the hazard they pose:
– packing group I – materials posing a high hazard,
– packing group II – materials posing a medium hazard,
– packing group III – materials posing a low hazard (point 2.1.1.3).
These groups are provided in column 4 of Table A of the list of dangerous goods (Part 3). In the final part of the regulations for individual classes, the names of materials and objects not permitted for rail transport are also indicated.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 5/2006.