Carriage of Dangerous Goods Manual

Introduction

1 The Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2009 (CDG Regs) and the European agreement ("Accord européen relatif au transport international des marchandises dangereuses par route", known as ADR) which together regulate the carriage of dangerous goods by road are highly prescriptive. The GB regulations were substantially restructured for 2009 with direct referencing to ADR for the main duties. Amending regulations were made in 2011, mainly to reflect changes to the EU Transportable Pressure Equipment Directive. This guidance does not cover carriage of radioactive substances.

2 Northern Ireland has equivalent regulations so much of this manual is also applicable there. Please note that although HSENI has been consulted, this guidance has been prepared by HSE for use in Great Britain.

3 This guidance is intended for enforcement officers, but may be helpful to others. It will guide them through the process and help them to make informed judgements about the extent of compliance. It will also guide officers when discussing compliance with duty holders and deciding when to take further action. The reader should remember that the law can only be interpreted by the Courts.

4 CDG Regs now cross-refer almost totally to ADR, and it is ADR that contains the detailed requirements. The regulations do allow certain exemptions that arise from the way the EU Dangerous Goods Directive is worded, and the UK has a number of derogations from that directive. These are discussed in "main exemptions".

5 ADR includes security requirements in chapter 1.10. This guidance does not deal with these matters as enforcement is carried out by the Department for Transport.

Structure of this guidance

6 ADR is highly structured and prescriptive. It follows that if care and time are taken, the answer to most problems can be found, and for that reason there is little or no need for extensive explanatory literature or guidance.

7 Many duty holders will need to appoint a "Dangerous Goods Safety Adviser" and thus should have access to the specialist knowledge needed to navigate the regulations and ADR.

8 Some background to CDG Regs is given in Regulatory Environment. The chapter Operational Strategy " Enforcement sets out HSE's operational strategy with some enforcement guidance. ADR, CDG Regs and Dangerous Goods Safety Adviser describes the relationship between the regulations and ADR. Subsequent chapters largely follow the structure of ADR. Each chapter is set out as follows:

  • Reference to the relevant regulation
  • Guidance on the requirements of ADR itself
  • Any special considerations, such as exemptions (which are also discussed more fully at Main Exemptions)

9 This guidance does not repeat the requirements of CDG Regs or ADR, but directs the reader to the parts of the regulations and ADR that will be of relevance. It is intended to provide a basis for a consistent approach across the three agencies that are involved in enforcement.

10 The guidance is structured in line with ADR, that is, it follows the logical chain of duties from classification of substances through to carriage.

11 A number of areas where problems often arise have been included in the Frequently Asked Questions.

12 There is a specific chapter about clinical waste as this has proved to be one of the main problem areas for both dutyholders and enforcement officers.

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Updated 2017-07-17