Ready or not

摘要

Having read the extensive report of what the 150 or so delegates at Pira International's 18th "Annual Update Seminar had to sit through in the morning sessions (HCB December 2002, page 4), it should come as no surprise that a lengthy pause was required for refreshment in the afternoon. The meeting is designed to provide those attending with a detailed overview of the recent and impending changes to the regulations governing the transport of dangerous goods, not only within the UK but also on a European and international level. Having had the chance to digest biscuits and the mass of information already presented to them, delegates reconvened to hear Arne Bale explain what lies in store for the ADR and RID regulations in 2003. In fact, his clairvoyance stretched forward to 2005. Quite apart from the editorial corrections to the 2001 text, necessitated sometimes by anomalies arising from the restructuring exercise, the substantial amendments to the 2003 text derive primarily from the 12th revised edition of the UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (the 'Orange Book'). These include new provisions for the transport of aerosols, diagnostic specimens and multiple-element gas containers (MEGCs) as well as a new sample form for the reporting of dangerous goods incidents.