Dangerous goods safety guidance

In August 2015, a series of explosion at the Port of Tianjin killed 173 people, whilst in August 2020 218 people lost their lives and another 7,000 were injured at the Port of Beirut. Both incidents were caused by ammonium nitrate, which was stored at the ports, exploding.

“The temporary or long-term storage of dangerous goods in a facility, necessitates careful planning, supervision and continued due diligence,” said Uffe V Ernst-Frederiksen and Ken Rohlmann both of International Vessel Owners Dangerous Goods Association (IVODGA), which has collaborated on the guidelines.

“There are existing international, national and local regulations for dangerous goods in transit for various modes of transport but there is no direct equivalent for warehouses,” they added.

The Dangerous Goods Warehousing White Paper and its accompanying Checklist is a collaboration between the IVODGA, the International Cargo Handling Coordination Association (ICHCA), National Cargo Bureau (NCB) and World Shipping Council (WSC). Together they detail the risks involved when handling dangerous goods and the measures to be taken in containing them.

Topics covered include competency and training of workforces, property construction, fire protection, security equipment and protocols and emergency response procedures.news