ADR (treaty)

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Members of the ADR treaty.
Non-members. ADR Treaty - Members.svg
  Members of the ADR treaty.
  Non-members.

ADR, formally the Agreement of 30 September 1957 concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road is a 1957 United Nations treaty that governs transnational transport of hazardous materials. "ADR" is derived from the French name for the treaty: Accord relatif au transport international des marchandises Dangereuses par Route). Until 31 December 2020, the treaty was fully named European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road. However, as the word "European" might have given the impression that the treaty was only open for accession to European states, an amendment was decided in the end of 2019.

Contents

Concluded in Geneva on 30 September 1957 under the aegis of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, it entered into force on 29 January 1968. The agreement was modified (article 14, paragraph 3) in New York City on 21 August 1975, though these changes only took effect on 19 April 1985. A new amended ADR 2011 entered into force on 1 January 2011. Annexes A and B have been regularly amended and updated since the entry into force of ADR. Consequently, to the amendments for entry into force on 1 January 2015 (until June 2017), a revised consolidated version has been published as document ECE/TRANS/242, Vol. I and II. [1] Every two years the regulations are updated with the latest version applicable being the ADR 2023. [2]

As of 2022, 54 states are party to ADR. [3]

Contents

The agreement itself is brief and simple, and its most important article is article 2. This article states that with the exception of certain exceptionally dangerous materials, hazardous materials may in general be transported internationally in wheeled vehicles, provided that two sets of conditions be met:

  1. Annex A regulates the merchandise involved, notably their packaging and labels.
  2. Annex B regulates the construction, equipment, and use of vehicles for the transport of hazardous materials.

The appendices consist of nine chapters, with the following contents

  1. General provisions: terminology, general requirements
  2. Classification: classification of dangerous goods (CDG [4] )
  3. Dangerous Goods List sorted by UN number, with references to specific requirements set in chapters 3 to 9; special provisions and exemptions related to dangerous goods packed in limited quantities
  4. Packaging and tank provisions
  5. Consignment procedures, labeling, and marking of containers and vehicles.
  6. Construction and testing of packagings, intermediate bulk containers (IBCs), large packagings, and tanks
  7. Conditions of carriage, loading, unloading, and handling
  8. Vehicle crews, equipment, operation, and documentation
  9. Construction and approval of vehicles

Hazard classes

The classes of dangerous goods according to ADR are the following:

Each entry in the different classes has been assigned a 4 digit UN number. It is not usually possible to deduce the hazard class of a substance from its UN number: they have to be looked up in a table. An exception to this are Class 1 substances whose UN number will always begin with a 0. See List of UN numbers.

Tunnel classifications

The sign to the left of the Blackwall Tunnel approach road shows Class E. Towards Blackwall Tunnel (14075187245).jpg
The sign to the left of the Blackwall Tunnel approach road shows Class E.

The ADR Secretariat has defined a classification system for major tunnels in Europe. [5] "The categorization [is] based on the assumption that in tunnels there are three major dangers [that] may cause numerous victims or serious damage to the tunnel structure." It is the responsibility of each national authority to categorize its tunnels accordingly. The classes ranges from A (least restrictive), to E (most restrictive). As of 2010, in the United Kingdom for example, the least restrictive was the tunnel carrying the A299 to the Port of Ramsgate, while the most restrictive were several tunnels in East London, including the Limehouse Link tunnel, the Rotherhithe Tunnel, the Blackwall Tunnel and the East India Dock Link Tunnel. [6] [ better source needed ]

ADR pictograms

ADR pictograms for chemical hazards are based on GHS Transport pictograms and Non-GHS transport pictograms

See also

Related Research Articles

A UN number is a four-digit number that identifies hazardous materials, and articles in the framework of international trade and transport. Some hazardous substances have their own UN numbers, while sometimes groups of chemicals or products with similar properties receive a common UN number. A chemical in its solid state may receive a different UN number than the liquid phase if its hazardous properties differ significantly; substances with different levels of purity may also receive different UN numbers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Safety data sheet</span> Sheet listing work-related hazards

A safety data sheet (SDS), material safety data sheet (MSDS), or product safety data sheet (PSDS) is a document that lists information relating to occupational safety and health for the use of various substances and products. SDSs are a widely used system for cataloguing information on chemicals, chemical compounds, and chemical mixtures. SDS information may include instructions for the safe use and potential hazards associated with a particular material or product, along with spill-handling procedures. The older MSDS formats could vary from source to source within a country depending on national requirements; however, the newer SDS format is internationally standardized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hazard symbol</span> Warning symbol on locations or products

Hazard symbols or warning symbols are recognisable symbols designed to warn about hazardous or dangerous materials, locations, or objects, including electromagnetic fields, electric currents; harsh, toxic or unstable chemicals ; and radioactivity. The use of hazard symbols is often regulated by law and directed by standards organizations. Hazard symbols may appear with different colors, backgrounds, borders, and supplemental information in order to specify the type of hazard and the level of threat. Warning symbols are used in many places in lieu of or addition to written warnings as they are quickly recognized and more commonly understood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dangerous goods</span> Solids, liquids, or gases harmful to people, other organisms, property or the environment

Dangerous goods, abbreviated DG, are substances that when transported are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials. An example for dangerous goods is hazardous waste which is waste that has substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Directive 67/548/EEC</span>

The Dangerous Substances Directive was one of the main European Union laws concerning chemical safety, until its full replacement by the new regulation CLP Regulation (2008), starting in 2016. It was made under Article 100 of the Treaty of Rome. By agreement, it is also applicable in the EEA, and compliance with the directive will ensure compliance with the relevant Swiss laws. The Directive ceased to be in force on 31 May 2015 and was repealed by Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures, amending and repealing Directives 67/548/EEC and 1999/45/EC, and amending Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CMR Convention</span> 1956 United Nations convention

The CMR Convention is a United Nations convention that was signed in Geneva on 19 May 1956. It relates to various legal issues concerning transportation of cargo by road. It has been ratified by the majority of European states. As of January 2022, it has been ratified by 58 states.

A placard is a notice installed in a public place, like a small card, sign, or plaque. It can be attached to or hung from a vehicle or building to indicate information about the vehicle operator or contents of a vehicle or building. It can also refer to paperboard signs or notice carried by picketers or demonstrators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals</span> International standard managed by the United Nations

The Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) is an internationally agreed-upon standard managed by the United Nations that was set up to replace the assortment of hazardous material classification and labelling schemes previously used around the world. Core elements of the GHS include standardized hazard testing criteria, universal warning pictograms, and harmonized safety data sheets which provide users of dangerous goods with a host of information. The system acts as a complement to the UN Numbered system of regulated hazardous material transport. Implementation is managed through the UN Secretariat. Although adoption has taken time, as of 2017, the system has been enacted to significant extents in most major countries of the world. This includes the European Union, which has implemented the United Nations' GHS into EU law as the CLP Regulation, and United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards.

Flammable solids are any materials in the solid phase of matter that can readily undergo combustion in the presence of a source of ignition under standard circumstances, i.e. without:

The HAZMAT Class 2 in United States law includes all gases which are compressed and stored for transportation. Class 2 has three divisions: Flammable, Non-Flammable/Non-Poisonous, and Poisonous. This classification is based on the United Nations' Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods - Model Regulations. In Canada, the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations, or TDGR, are also based on the UN Model Regulations and contain the same three divisions.

Hazard statements form part of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). They are intended to form a set of standardized phrases about the hazards of chemical substances and mixtures that can be translated into different languages. As such, they serve the same purpose as the well-known R-phrases, which they are intended to replace.

Hazard pictograms form part of the international Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). Two sets of pictograms are included within the GHS: one for the labelling of containers and for workplace hazard warnings, and a second for use during the transport of dangerous goods. Either one or the other is chosen, depending on the target audience, but the two are not used together. The two sets of pictograms use the same symbols for the same hazards, although certain symbols are not required for transport pictograms. Transport pictograms come in wider variety of colors and may contain additional information such as a subcategory number.

The UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods are contained in the UN Model Regulations prepared by the Subcommittee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). They cover the transport of dangerous goods by all modes of transport except by bulk tanker. They are not obligatory or legally binding on individual countries, but have gained a wide degree of international acceptance: they form the basis of several international agreements and many national laws.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IJtunnel</span>

The IJtunnel, opened on 30 October 1968, is an automobile tunnel under the IJ that connects the centre of Amsterdam with Amsterdam-Noord. The tunnel is part of a route across Amsterdam that connects the Ringweg North with the Ringweg South near Duivendrecht, via Nieuwe Leeuwarderweg, Valkenburgerstraat, Weesperstraat, Wibautstraat and Gooiseweg (S112).

European hazard symbols for chemicals are pictograms defined by the European Union for labelling chemical packaging and containers. They are standardised currently by the CLP/GHS classification.

The Australian Dangerous Goods Code is promulgated by The Advisory Committee on Transport of Dangerous Goods. The most current version is the seventh edition, 7.7 released in 2020 and mandated from October 1 2021. Read in conjunction with accompanying national and State laws, the document creates a significant level of standardisation for the transportation of dangerous goods in Australia.

<i>Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992</i> Canadian goods regulation law

The Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992 is a Canadian federal statute. Introduced in the 34th Canadian Parliament, and receiving royal assent on June 23, 1992, the act regulates the transportation of dangerous goods in the country.

Chemical safety includes all those policies, procedures and practices designed to minimize the risk of exposure to potentially hazardous chemicals. This includes the risks of exposure to persons handling the chemicals, to the surrounding environment, and to the communities and ecosystems within that environment. Manufactured chemicals, either pure or in mixtures, solutions and emulsions, are ubiquitous in modern society, at industrial, occupational and private scale. However, there are chemicals that should not mix or get in contact with others, as they can produce byproducts that may be toxic, carcinogenic, explosive etc., or can be dangerous in themselves. To avoid disasters and mishaps, maintaining safety is paramount.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Safety cabinet</span> Cabinet used to store flammable chemical substance or compressed gas cylinders

A safety cabinet is used for the safe storage of flammable chemical substance or compressed gas cylinders.

References

Notes

  1. Full 2011 ADR Agreement
  2.   United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), 2017.
  3. UNECE: Present status of ADR
  4. "Carriage of Dangerous Goods - ADR and the carriage regulations 2004". www.hse.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  5. European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road: ADR applicable as from 1 January 2017   United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), 2017. See section 1.9.5
  6. "ADR Tunnel Codes explained". Road Haulers' Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 July 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2014.

ADR 2023 https://unece.org/info/Transport/Dangerous-Goods/pub/373077 Sources