Controls to ensure safe transport of chemicals

The government will step up controls on the transport of dangerous chemicals to ensure safety, the Ministry of Transport said recently.

It jointly released a guideline with five other ministries specifying precautions to be taken to reduce risks during the transportation of dangerous goods, which were defined as highly explosive, flammable, poisonous, radioactive and corrosive chemicals.

Xu Yahua, head of the ministry's transport services department, said there are still some major safety risks in the logistics sector such as illegal operations by transport companies, and enhanced scrutiny is needed.

"Companies need to find out problems before transportation," he said. "For example, drivers, goods and vehicles should all be checked. If a problem is found, the vehicle will not be allowed on the road."

The guideline called for checks on whether tankers have vehicle and operating licenses, whether drivers have qualification certificates, whether the dangerous goods loaded are consistent with the waybill, and whether the chemicals are in the right kind of tank.

The guideline also includes restrictions on road access for tankers carrying dangerous goods. They will not be allowed to enter densely populated areas, nature reserves, long bridges, long tunnels or highways in mountain areas. They will also be barred from using expressways between midnight and 6 am due to concerns drivers on long overnight routes could be too tired to concentrate properly.

The controls will be enforced by the ministries of transport, public security, ecology and environment, emergency management, industry and information technology, and the State Administration for Market Regulation.

The Ministry of Transport said about 3 million metric tons of dangerous goods were transported on highways and expressways each day last year, accounting for 70 percent of dangerous goods being transported.

By the end of last year, there were about 1.6 million people employed in the transport of dangerous goods in China, up 10 percent year-on-year.

Xu said that since many of those employees had low professional abilities and technical skills, strengthening training for drivers and loaders was also important. Those who fail to pass tests should not be employed in the industry, he said.