All you need to know about ADR

 

ADR

ADR is the term for an international agreement on the transport of dangerous goods. The agreement contains provisions for road transport regarding packaging, load securing and labelling of dangerous substances.

 

Concept

ADR stands for 'Accord européen relatif au transport international des marchandises dangereuses par route', which translates as 'The Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road '. The international term ADR is so widely used in the transport industry that almost everyone in every country understands it.

Conditions


Every hazardous material subject to this convention has a corresponding marking. We do not need to be 100% familiar with them, as it is enough to see the diamond-shaped marking on the packaging. In addition, each client who orders transport must indicate that it concerns ADR cargo.

If we have a chance to carry such cargo, what we have to do to make it compliant and safe. Fortunately, it is not particularly difficult or expensive. There are three requirements. The most important one is proper training of the driver in the safety rules of ADR cargo carriage. After such training, the driver receives a certificate that authorises him to transport dangerous goods.

Once the driver has been trained, the other two conditions should not cause us any problems. That is, we need to equip the bus with:

  • ADR suitcase with accessories
  • shovel
  • protective gloves
  • safety glasses / goggles
  • Eye wash equipment
  • warning waistcoat
  • torch
  • protective mask
  • safety shoes
  • sweeper
  • waste sack
  • 2 x 2 kg powder extinguisher
  • warning triangle 2 items
  • wheel chock 1 pc.
  • ADR plates 2 pcs. 

 

 The third requirement is to have an ADR adviser in the company. This must be someone who checks that everything is being done according to the regulations and sends out a report once a year.

ADR equipment - Matex Transport Logistics

ADR marking - list of dangerous goods

 

It is also worth remembering that the packaging in which dangerous goods are transported must be correctly labelled. The orange label always bears the hazard identification number, which has two or three digits preceded by the relevant letter, and the four-digit UN number. ADR stickers, on the other hand, are in the shape of a square rotated by 45 degrees. They should be attached in a clearly visible position.

tablica adr

1. Explosives and explosive objects

They are divided into explosives (solid, liquid or mixtures of materials) - as a result of a chemical reaction they can emit gases that cause environmental pollution. The second category is pyrotechnics (or mixtures of materials) - they are created to produce light, sound, heat, gas, smoke or a combination of these effects through a chemical reaction.

  • Materials and objects which present a risk of fire and a low risk of explosion or scatter, or both, but which do not present a mass explosion hazard

  • Materials and objects which present only a low explosion hazard if ignited or initiated during carriage. The effects are largely confined to the consignment piece and do not lead to the scattering of fragments of significant size or range. An external fire should not cause an immediate explosion of the entire contents of the consignment.

  • Materials and objects which present a fire risk and a small explosion or scattering risk, or both, but which do not present a mass explosion risk

  • Materials and objects which present only a low explosion hazard if ignited or initiated during carriage. The effects are largely confined to the consignment piece and do not lead to the scattering of fragments of significant size or range. An external fire should not cause an immediate explosion of the entire contents of the consignment

  • Very low-sensitivity materials posing a mass explosion hazard which are so insensitive that they are unlikely to initiate or to transition from burning to detonation under normal conditions of carriage. The minimum requirement for these materials is that they should not explode when exposed to external fire

  • Extremely insensitive objects that do not present a mass explosion hazard. These articles contain only extremely insensitive materials and present a negligible probability of accidental initiation or propagation
     

2. Materials in gaseous state

This category includes pure gases, gas mixtures, mixtures of one or more gases with one or more other materials and objects containing such materials. They are divided into asphyxiating (A), oxidising (O), flammable (F), poisonous (T), poisonous, combustible (TF), poisonous, corrosive (TC), poisonous, oxidising (TO), poisonous, combustible, corrosive (TFC) and poisonous, oxidising, corrosive (TOC)

  • 2.1 Flammable gases - corresponding to groups F
  • 2.2 Non-flammable, non-toxic gases - corresponding to groups A or O
  • 2.3 Poisonous gases - corresponding to groups designated by the letter T, i.e. T, TF, TC,TO, TFC and TOC

3. Flammable liquids

  • Liquid substances - have a vapour pressure of not more than 300 kPa at 50°C and not fully gaseous at 20°C and a normal pressure of 101.3 kPa, and a flashpoint of not more than 61°C.
  • Liquids and molten solids with a flash point higher than 61°C - transported or supplied for carriage heated to a temperature equal to or greater than their flash point
  • Desensitised liquid explosives - explosives which are dissolved or suspended in water or other liquid materials to form a homogeneous liquid mixture with reduced explosive properties

4.1 Flammable solids, self-reactive materials and desensitised solid explosives

  • Liquid substances - at 50°C have a vapour pressure not greater than 300 kPa and are not completely gaseous at 20°C and a normal pressure of 101.3 kPa, and have a flash point not greater than 61°C
  • Liquids and molten solids which have a flash point higher than 61°C and which are transported or supplied for carriage heated to a temperature equal to or greater than their flash point
  • Desensitised liquid explosives - explosives that are dissolved or suspended in water or other liquid materials to form a homogeneous liquid mixture with reduced explosive properties

4.2 Spontaneously combustible materials

  • Pyrophoric materials, including mixtures and solutions (liquid or solid) - in contact with air, even in small quantities, they ignite within 5 minutes.
  • Self-heating substances and objects, together with mixtures and solutions, which in contact with air, without external energy input, are susceptible to self-heating.
  • These materials can only ignite in large quantities (many kilograms) and over long periods of time (hours or days)

4.3 Materials which, in contact with water, emit flammable gases

Materials which, reacting with water, emit flammable gases capable of forming explosive mixtures with air, and objects containing such materials.

5.1 Oxidising materials

This group covers materials which, by giving off oxygen, may cause or sustain the combustion of another material

 

5.2 Organic peroxides

This group covers organic peroxides and formulations of organic peroxides.

  • P1 - organic peroxides without controlled temperature
  • P2 - organic peroxides with controlled temperature

Organic peroxides are susceptible to exothermic decomposition at normal or elevated temperatures. Decomposition can be initiated by: heat, contact with contaminants (e.g. acids, heavy metal compounds, amines), friction or impact. The rate of decomposition increases with temperature and varies depending on the formulation of the organic peroxide. The decomposition may give off harmful or flammable gases or vapours.

6.1 Poisonous materials

This group covers materials that are known from experience or that, from the point of view of animal testing, can be regarded as capable, in sufficiently small quantities, of causing damage to human health or death by inhalation, skin penetration or ingestion during a single or short period of exposure.

 

6.2 Infectious materials

They are known or reasonably suspected to contain pathogens. Pathogens are defined as micro-organisms (including bacteria, viruses, rickettsiae, parasites and fungi) or recombinant micro-organisms (hybrids or mutants) that are known or reasonably suspected to cause infectious diseases in humans or animals. For the purposes of this class, viruses, micro-organisms as well as objects contaminated with them shall be regarded as materials of this class.

7. Radioactive materials

  • Category I WHITE - consignments with a Transport Index (TI) value = 0 and a maximum radiation level of not more than 0.005 mSv/h.
  • Category II YELLOW - consignments with a Transport Index (TI) value greater than 0 but not greater than 1 and a maximum radiation level greater than 0.005 mSv/h but not greater than 0.5 mSv/h.
  • Category IIIYELLOW  - consignments with a Transport Index (TI) value greater than 1 but not greater than 10 and with a maximum radiation level greater than 0.5 mSv/h but not greater than 2 mSv/h.
  • Category III YELLOW - packages with a Transport Index (TI) value greater than 10 and a maximum radiation level greater than 2 mSv/h but not greater than 10 mSv/h.

8. Corrosives

This category includes materials and articles containing materials of this class which, by chemical action, attack the epithelial tissue of the skin or mucous membranes if they come into contact therewith and which, if they leak, may damage or destroy other goods or means of transport or give rise to other hazards. The title of this class also includes materials which form a corrosive liquid only in the presence of water, or which give off corrosive vapours or mists in the presence of natural moisture in the air.

9. Miscellaneous dangerous goods and articles

These are materials and objects which, when transported, present hazards other than those specified in the other classes.

  • M1 - materials which, if inhaled in the form of fine dust, may pose a health risk
  • M2 - materials and instruments which may form dioxins in case of fire
  • M3 - materials giving off flammable vapours
  • M4 - lithium batteries
  • M5 - rescue items
  • M6-M8 - environmentally hazardous materials
  • M9-M10 - high temperature materials
  • M11 - other materials hazardous in transit but not corresponding to the definitions of the other classes

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