§ Mr. Fauldsasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he intends to introduce legislation to make mandatory the adoption of Hazchem, the new information code to identify dangerous loads in transit, and advise on treatment in emergencies, and to extend Hazchem to cover toxic waste and spilt loads.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerI have been asked to reply.
The Chairman of the Health and Safety Commission informs me that it is his intention to put forward legislative proposals which will require the labelling of road tankers carrying dangerous goods and that, subject to the practical experience gained from the operation of the present voluntary scheme, it is anticipated that these proposals will make mandatory the requirements of the present scheme.
Work is already in hand to extend the voluntary scheme to cover the carriage of 57W multi-loads and of hazardous waste. Initially, the proposal is to extend on a voluntary basis, as it will in this way be possible to bring the labelling system into much wider use without the inevitable delays which occur during the processes of consultation necessary before appropriate labelling can be made mandatory.
It is nevertheless proposed that the necessary consultative action will commence as soon as the widened voluntary scheme has been agreed, and it is the stated aim of the commission that regulations requiring the labelling of all tankers carrying dangerous goods according to the requirements of the United Kingdom Hazard Information Scheme should be brought into force by means of regulations as soon as this is reasonably practicable.