TRANSPORTATION

Overview

The transport of chemicals and hazardous materials has many important requirements
that need to be considered. It must be handled with proper precautions and should not be
attempted without consideration for proper safety and training. Planning chemical transport
can brings significant impact to financial, environmental, and health-related risks, so it’s
imperative that a robust legislative infrastructure is in place to reduce the risk of accidents
occurring while such substances are being transported and ensure the prompt delivery of
chemical shipments. Furthermore, when transporting chemicals, it is vital to be aware of the
legislation and regulations that must be followed, the hazards of chemical transportation (and
how to avoid them) and best practices for moving chemicals both on and off-site.

The Hazard of Chemical Transportation

Here are several possible hazards that can result from accidents involving chemical
transportation, and the UN classifies dangerous goods based on the prime threats that they
pose. The following list covers the nine broad classifications of hazards:

 Explosives - naturally, such substances pose the threat of explosion when in transport
 Gases - dangerous gases can either be flammable and cause a fire or toxic and cause
poisoning
 Flammable liquids - such liquids can easily catch fire, damaging buildings, the
environment, or causing injuries/fatalities
 Flammable solids - aside from certain solids being flammable, some solids can
spontaneously combust, while others can form a flammable gas when in contact with
water
 Oxidizing substances - oxidizing chemicals can speed up the development of a fire,
make a fire more intense, or cause combustible materials to burn spontaneously
without the presence of an obvious ignition source
 Toxic substances - such chemicals are split into both toxic chemicals and infectious
chemicals
 Radioactive materials - spillage of such substances can cause enormous damage to
ecosystems and people
 Corrosive substances - corrosive materials present health hazards by burning the skin
and eyes, or damaging the respiratory tract
Chemical Transport Best Practices

Chemical transport of dangerous substances externally arguably presents a bigger risk of

larger scale incidents than on-site chemical transport because the quantities of chemicals
transported externally are often much larger. Some best practices for external chemical
transport include:

 Equipped the road-tanker with a pictogram to give awareness to the vehicle nearby
that it is carrying a hazardous substance.
 Always carry an appropriate spill kit - it’s particularly important to use spill kits
appropriate for the chemicals being carried.
 Hazmat kits are used for corrosive acids, solvents and other ‘aggressive’ chemicals.
Universal spill kits are for spills containing either water or hydrocarbon chemicals. Oil-
only kits are specifically for oil.
 Ensure appropriately segregate mixed classes of hazardous substances to avoid the
risk of a reaction while they are in transport.
 Fully secure hazardous substances on the vehicle or other mode of transport so that
they can’t move or fall.
 Always classify chemicals according to their hazards as designated by the UN so you
can select appropriate packaging for all goods being transported.
 Only hire competent and registered carriers to transport hazardous substances for
both domestic and international transport. Written evidence of competency should be
obtained from the transport company beforehand prior to carriage.
 Appropriately label all packaging with the appropriate diamond shaped transport
hazard label.