ADR question

ASK THE EXPERTS SAFETY, LAW AND WORKING TIME DIRECTIVE FORUM (INTE
1

hi guys,

i recently went to a place to load up,while loading the forklift driver bought out an IBC of flamable liquid,next IBC was a oxidising agent.I told the guy that you cant put an oxidising agent next to a flammable liquid.i am of the understanding there has to be a 1mtr gap between these 2 ?.some manager came down and wanted the forklift and was ■■■■■■ off i was telling the guy he couldnt load the load how he was loading it. he rang a supposedly DGSA who said to him that the 1m gap rule is only used if the load is going overseas.i rang my brother,who works for a chemical company,he rang his office and asked the question about the gap.he telephoned me back within 5 mins to say i was correct and that the gap was needed.but i need conformation in black and white to show this manager he was talking rubbish,or was he right and we all have it wrong ? look forward to hearing about this king regards

2

TruckerPaul54:
hi guys,

i recently went to a place to load up,while loading the forklift driver bought out an IBC of flamable liquid,next IBC was a oxidising agent.I told the guy that you cant put an oxidising agent next to a flammable liquid.i am of the understanding there has to be a 1mtr gap between these 2 ?.some manager came down and wanted the forklift and was ■■■■■■ off i was telling the guy he couldnt load the load how he was loading it. he rang a supposedly DGSA who said to him that the 1m gap rule is only used if the load is going overseas.i rang my brother,who works for a chemical company,he rang his office and asked the question about the gap.he telephoned me back within 5 mins to say i was correct and that the gap was needed.but i need conformation in black and white to show this manager he was talking rubbish,or was he right and we all have it wrong ? look forward to hearing about this king regards

I am going to suggest ADR 7.5.4 and the gap should be a minimum of 0.8m but I need Dave to explain how I have come to that conclusion.

3

TruckerPaul54:
hi guys,

i recently went to a place to load up,while loading the forklift driver bought out an IBC of flamable liquid,next IBC was a oxidising agent.I told the guy that you cant put an oxidising agent next to a flammable liquid.i am of the understanding there has to be a 1mtr gap between these 2 ?.

Hi TruckerPaul54,

Common sense tells us that it’s rather daft to put an IBC containing Class 3 right next to another IBC containing Class 5.1, because if the two were to leak and mix, you’d have a self-starting fire that would burn quite fiercely.
From that point of view I completely agree with your thoughts, but from the info you’ve given, there’s not actually any breach of ADR.

TruckerPaul54:
some manager came down and wanted the forklift and was ■■■■■■ off i was telling the guy he couldnt load the load how he was loading it. he rang a supposedly DGSA who said to him that the 1m gap rule is only used if the load is going overseas.

Sorry, but that “going overseas” bit is not correct, AND there’s no difference between UK law and ADR on this point.

TruckerPaul54:
i rang my brother,who works for a chemical company,he rang his office and asked the question about the gap.he telephoned me back within 5 mins to say i was correct and that the gap was needed.but i need conformation in black and white to show this manager he was talking rubbish,or was he right and we all have it wrong ? look forward to hearing about this king regards

I can’t give exact answer in black and white until I know the UN numbers of what you were carrying, because sometimes an additional provision brings ADR 7.5.4 into effect.

The idea of the separation distance is one of the options contained in ADR 7.5.4, but the title of 7.5.4 says that 7.5.4 is concerned with:

7.5.4
Precautions with respect to foodstuffs, or other articles of consumtion and animal feeds

To answer your question fully, could you please say what the UN numbers of the substances you were carrying are?
Could you also say whether you were carrying any kind of foodstuffs or animal feed at the same time as the chemicals please?

The fact that Class 3 and Class 5.1 can generally be carried on the same vehicle without further restrictions is contained in a table of mixed loading prohibitions at ADR 7.5.2.

4

Wheel Nut:
I am going to suggest ADR 7.5.4 and the gap should be a minimum of 0.8m but I need Dave to explain how I have come to that conclusion.

Hi Malc,

I can see where you’ve got the “0.8 meters” from, but ADR 7.5.4 is all about foodstuffs, and that’s regardless of whether it’s intended for humans or animals.

The application of 7.5.4 to any particular job depends on CV28 being written in column 18 of the table at 3.2.1, so it’s done on a substance by substance basis rather than by UN Class as a blanket requirement.

:bulb: 7.5.4 contains its own rules and trigger. :wink: