HSC consults on proposals to extend existing requirements of tanks and pressure receptacles

HSC press release: C006:03 - 21 February 2003

The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) has today published a consultative letter on proposals for a short set of amending regulations to defer the dates on which current requirements governing the construction, inspection, testing and use of pressure receptacles and tanks expire.

The proposals will amend requirements in the following sets of regulations that would otherwise expire on 1 July 2003:

• the Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail Regulations 1996;
  
• the Carriage of Dangerous Goods (Classification, Packaging and Labelling) and Use of Transportable Pressure Receptacles Regulations 1996; and
  
• the Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road Regulations 1996.

The amending regulations are required to prevent a gap in regulatory provisions before the consolidated carriage of dangerous goods regulations come into force. The consolidated regulations will bring together various current regulations into one set while referencing the international agreements for carriage by rail and road (known as RID and ADR respectively) for technical detail. The continuing complexity of the task of drafting the consolidated regulations means that the implementation date of 1 July 2003 will be missed.

The consultative letter invites relevant organisations and individuals to comment on the draft amending regulations. For those not included on the official consultation list, the consultative letter can be viewed on HSE's website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/consult/

In order to ensure that there is no gap in regulatory provision, the consultation period has, exceptionally, been shortened to six weeks.

Notes to editors

Carriage of dangerous goods in Great Britain is governed by a complex legislative framework of regulations and approved documents made under the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974.

The development of these regulations is mainly driven by the implementation of European Directives, which require Member States to align their domestic legislation with international agreements on the carriage of dangerous goods. The international agreements which govern transport by rail and road, RID (Reglements Internationales Relatif au Transport des Marchandises Dangereuses par Chemin de Fer) and ADR (Accord Européen Relatif au Transport International des Marchandises Dangereuses par Route) respectively are updated every two years.

The decision to consolidate existing domestic regulations into a new set of carriage regulations that would also directly reference RID/ADR was taken by the HSE with a view to implementing the regulations by 1 July 2003. However, the sheer complexity of the task and the legal issues that still need to be resolved, mean that the consolidated regulations will not come into force by that date. In consequence, there is a need to ensure that existing requirements continue to apply until the consolidated regulations are in place in 2004. It is anticipated that a Consultative Document on the consolidated carriage regulations will be published in early Summer 2003.

The Consultative Letter has been posted on HSE's website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/consult

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