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Letter from the Editor,  Welcome to the August edition of transafe news. The weather is still changeable and it could be that we have seen the best of the Summer. Whatever the weather remember that safe driving means taking the road  conditions into account  As usual, any feedback on the website or newsletter would be most welcome.

 

Regulatory Update: 

We are not aware of any new legislation affecting the carriage of dangerous goods being made during July 2010.

Aerosols are flammable:

This sort of thing can happen to anybody, though. No, really… Consider the case of one 18-year-old of Bolton, Lancashire, who ended up in hospital in May. He was one of three guys picking up supplies from the B&Q hardware store; probably wanting to improve the air quality after being stuck in a van with two other sweaty labourers, he decided to spray some air freshener around. Then he lit a cigarette.

The resulting explosion gave him serious burns to his legs, arms and face, although the van itself was not badly damaged.

 

Hauliers in north-east Scotland have expressed concern about the possibility of "catastrophic spillages" of fertiliser products unless a clear method for securely loading bags can be established.

Martin Cessford, director of R&N Cessford Haulage, in Brechin, Angus, says VOSA officers have been stopping trucks in Aberdeenshire for using ropes or curtainsider straps - rather than independent straps and ratchets - to secure their loads.

However, he believes forcing haulage firms carrying fertiliser bags - containing substances such as ammonium nitrate - to use straps and ratchets has the potential to cause catastrophic spillages.

He says: "Drivers are concerned that straps and ratchets can split the inner liners of fertiliser bags and cause damage to products.

"This is a big issue for us and we want some clarification on the law as a matter of urgency."

Simon Barley, customer service and distribution manager at Yara UK which employs several haulage contractors in the area, says his company would welcome discussions with VOSA - through its trade association, the Agricultural Industries Confederation to establish a clear securing load method.

He says: "We are disappointed that this has not been possible before fines and penalty points have been imposed on our hauliers."

Barley says the RHA and FTA have advised his company that if one of its contractors gets stopped "they should contest it with the local VOSA area manager" .

A VOSA spokesman says the organisation is working with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on a safe load campaign, which has resulted in 26 improvement notices and eight advisory notices issued by the HSE, and six prohibitions issued by VOSA.

He adds: "VOSA and the HSE are keen to educate operators and drivers to the issues regarding load security and are continuing to publicise these issues."

 Over in Detroit, not content with banning smoking in the workplace, the authorities are also urging city employees not to wear aftershave, perfume or cologne. Body lotion and deodorant are also on the danger list, as are scented candles, perfume samples and solid air fresheners.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the move comes after a $100,000 settlement in a federal lawsuit filed by a city employee who said a colleague’s perfume “made it challenging for her to do her job”. Diddums. We await the next lawsuit from someone who says that having to work with colleagues whose body odour is not masked by artificial means makes it challenging to keep their lunch down.

One Man’s Smell

Load Security

Inspection at Ports    VOSA says it is still in discussions with UK ports to allow it to carry out enforcement activities, six months after its chief executive admitted several ports would not allow the agency in.

Alastair Peoples, VOSA CEO, told MPs in January that four ports had denied VOSA access because of competition issues. They were Cairnryan and Stranraer in Scotland, Twelve Quays in Liverpool and Liverpool Port, which later refuted the claim, saying VOSA was carrying out weekly operations on site.

Peoples said the situation could give rise to a perception that commercial advantage was being given to these ports because VOSA was not checking HGVs there.

However it seems  VOSA is still unable to carry out its functions at the three remaining ports. A spokesman says: "VOSA is working closely with relevant port association bodies to negotiate an agreement to gain access to those port locations to which VOSA does not currently have permission to work from."

British Ports Association director David Whitehead says the agreement is only weeks away from being ready. "The final stage is that the ports can accept it," he says. "There are issues when you start to define the relationship between ports and VOSA; you have to get it right. But it's a memorandum of understanding; it's not a piece of law."

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