Empac transport commission (TR)

 

Jörg Höppner Chairman & Secretary

The international carriage of dangerous goods has long been governed by established international agreements known, in the case of land transport, by the abbreviations ADR (for road transport), RID (rail) or ADN (inland waterways). These rules were drawn up by international organisations which have a wealth of experience and knowledge in the field. They are updated at intervals to keep pace with technical progress and improve safety.

The objectives of the Empac TR Commission are to monitor for the transport of dangerous goods, to contribute generally to their development and in particular to safeguard the interests of our member companies.

The activities of the TR Commission include among others,

• Collection and study of documents from the different national delegations and organisations issued for the meetings of UN, RID, ADR¹, IMO² and ICAO³.
• Preparation and presentation of documents and arguments to legislative bodies and for Empac representation in the meetings of international UN- and European RID/ADR-level.
• Monitoring and contributing to CEN/ISO⁴ activity in the area of standards relating to the transport of dangerous goods.
• Co-operation with CEFIC⁵, CEPE⁶, FEICA⁷, INDA⁸ , where possible. Furthermore a vital co-operation with the European drum manufacturers association SEFA respectively European Industrial Association EIPA⁹.

Current work items of TR Commission are:

• To update UN Model Regulations for all modes of transport including Packing Instructions
• To keep - in spite of the trend toward harmonization - the existing advantages which light gauge metal packagings have in land transport
• To avoid aggravations like new destructive UN tests i.e. vibration and puncture tests
• To clarify - in the context of "Leakproofness tests" - on how to deal with the requirement of an "every packaging leakproofness test" in accordance with UN-Recommendations
• To give guidance to the shipper for the use of steel packagings in air transport of dangerous goods
• To develop CEN and ISO Standards regarding the transport of dangerous goods