Transportation of Dangerous Goods

On 1 August 2001, chapter VIII of the Act " Transportation of Dangerous Goods and Substances by Road" came into operation. Legislation regarding this act was published in the Government Gazette on 17 March 2000. The agreements stated below needed to be implemented by the end of October 2001.

This Act, chapter VIII of the Road Traffic Act 93 of 1996, brings into law all the SABS Codes of Practice pertaining to the Dangerous Goods classification, packaging, labelling, transport, emergency response and vehicle construction.

One of the codes of practice, SABS 0231, (Transportation of Dangerous Goods and the Operational Requirements for Road Vehicles) covers three separate issues namely:

• The loading of Dangerous Goods or Substances - Consignor responsibility
• The transportation of Dangerous Goods or Substances - Operator responsibility
• The unloading of Dangerous Goods or Substances - Consignee and Operator responsibility.

Each of the above three operations is subject to agreements between the relevant parties. The tasks pertaining to these issues have to be carried out by qualified personnel trained to perform the tasks. As a result of this, agreements are required between the following parties:

• The Consignor (NCP Alcohols (Pty) Ltd) and the Operator (transport company)
• The Consignee (the customer) and the Operator (transport company)

The Consignee's duties/responsibilities are summarised below:

The CONSIGNEE shall ensure that ;

• the CONSIGNEE' s UNLOADING FACILITY conforms to the requirements of SABS 0263 for packaged GOODS ordered by the CONSIGNEE and to the requirements of SABS 0189 for bulk cargo, if applicable;
• the entry and exit space for VEHICLES at the CONSIGNEE's UNLOADING FACILITY is adequate and safe;
• the CONSIGNEE's UNLOADING FACILITY is registered under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act No 85 of 1993), that its facilities and safety standards are adequate, that it is equipped with the necessary safety equipment and that all necessary safety measures associated with the GOODS are observed;
• the hose connections, unloading ramps, height of facilities, etc., required for the unloading of GOODS ordered by the CONSIGNEE from a VEHICLE, are compatible;
• The CONSIGNEE shall appoint a qualified person to supervise the unloading of all GOODS transported by the OPERATOR and shall ensure that the person so appointed has received adequate training in the application of the requirements of the SANS 10231:2006 standard and the necessary safety precautions.

If, for any reason, the qualified person or the driver of the VEHICLE considers it unsafe to unload a VEHICLE, the qualified person shall ensure that unloading does not proceed until the problem has been resolved to the satisfaction of both the qualified person and the driver.

Before permitting unloading to start, the qualified person shall ensure that :

• the VEHICLE presented for unloading is the correct VEHICLE and that it is carrying the correct GOODS as ordered by the CONSIGNEE;
• the VEHICLE is properly parked and that the engine has been switched off, except where a running engine is required to facilitate unloading;
• the unloading takes place in the correct, efficient and productive way, with no risk of distraction caused by other operations taking place, or by goods stored, in the vicinity;
• if bulk gaseous and liquid substances (including flowable solids) are to be unloaded, the capacity of the receiving tank is adequate to receive the volume of the substance to be unloaded, allowing for ullage where appropriate and that the receiving tank either has been properly cleaned of any previous contents or has been certified fit to receive the VEHICLE load;
• if flammable liquids are to be transferred, earth bonding wires have been provided and have been correctly connected (SABS 0189);
• during fluid type transfers, the qualified person remains in the vicinity of the flow control valves, where he can stop the transfer immediately in the event of a rupture, spillage or any other emergency; and
• in the case of packaged cargo, there has been no spillage of contents into the VEHICLE and that the packages are fit for subsequent handling and storage.

The CONSIGNEE shall obtain all the SPECIAL PERMITS which may be necessary for the unloading of GOODS transported by the OPERATOR at the CONSIGNEE's UNLOADING FACILITY and shall render proof of such permits if required by the OPERATOR.