§ Ms WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 17 March,Official Report, column 265, what progress was made at the United Nations working group meeting held in mid-April to consider proposals for incorporating the Hazchem warning system into proposed European legislation; what further action he proposes to take; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. KeyAn informal UN working group meeting was held on 19–22 April at the United Kingdom Fire Service college to examine possible ways of devising and displaying on road tank vehicles and rail tank wagons carrying dangerous goods throughout Europe a form of action code to be used by the emergency services in the event of an accident. The meeting was a result of United Kingdom initiatives in recent regular sessions of the WP. 15 group of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, at which the need for emergency action in the first few minutes of an incident and for coded information to be the same in all languages had been acknowledged.
The meeting was arranged by the Home Office and chaired by my Department. It was attended by a wide representation from signatory countries to the UNECE's ADR agreement concerning the international carriage of dangerous goods by road and from relevant international associations. A number of presentations illustrating from experience the benefits of the United Kingdom's Hazchem action code were made by United Kingdom interests. I am grateful to the commandant of the college and his staff for the efficient arrangements, including the vital practical demonstrations on the fireground. Although some participants remained satisfied with the present Kemler code in the ADR or that the UN substance identification number would be sufficient in future or that use of reference books was not a problem, a majority declared an interest in developing an emergency action code to be included additionally in the ADR. My Department and the Health and Safety Executive therefore will continue to promote formally our detailed proposals for amending the ADR agreement to include a composite placard.
A representative of the European Commission recalled the succession of approaches to the Commission and questions in the European Parliament on this subject. He conceded that with this level of political concern in a member state, a derogation would have to be proposed for inclusion in the draft Council directive currently under informal discussion between the Commission services, member states and other parties that would, in effect, apply the provisions of the ADR to domestic transport. Following further discussion with the Commission, a provision has now been included in a new draft which would allow the continued use of existing emergency action codes for domestic journeys until an internationally agreed code is developed.
I have placed a copy of the official report of the UN working group in the Library.