WRITTEN QUESTION E-2915/96 by Paul Lannoye (V) to the Commission (8 November 1996)

Subject: Trend in the annual accident toll and the risks involved in transporting hazardous goods

The road transport of hazardous goods is currently subject to national legislation, which differs markedly from state to state. This situation should be largely remedied by the transposition of Council Directive 94/55/EC ((OJ L 319, 12.12.1994, p. 7. )) (deadline: 1 January 1997). The aim of guaranteeing a high level of safety necessitates the creation of a common data-base of past accidents involving shipments of hazardous materials, the specific risks involved and the expected trend in such risks.

Does the Commission have an annual survey of accidents and incidents during the transportation of hazardous materials in the European Union, both in years before the elimination of internal borders and for the years 1993, 1994 and 1995?

Are the statistics broken down by cause of accident and their consequences? What proportion of accidents is caused by the transportation of hazardous materials themselves? What proportion of accidents involves more than one consignment of hazardous goods?

In how many cases was there a leak or spillage of hazardous substances, in particular radioactive substances?

In how many cases did the load of hazardous materials explode or catch fire? What were the human and environmental consequences of those accidents?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission (26 November 1996)

At present there are no specific statistics at Community level which pinpoint accidents involving the transport of dangerous goods, including radioactive materials. The Commission is therefore not in a position to report on the number of cases of spills, whether these be of radioactive material or otherwise, nor on the incidences of fires or explosions in the load being carried.

At international level, however, the International atomic energy authority is currently developing a system of collecting data evaluating the radiological consequences arising from accidents involving radioactive materials, which the Member States are encouraged by the Commission to collect at national level.

The few dramatic accidents which involve spillage of dangerous goods are reported on an ad hoc basis. Even in such accidents, given the emergency response procedures activated in such events, the human and ecological consequences have been very small or non-existent.

The number of accidents involving dangerous goods where the accident was caused by the load itself are extremely rare, given the integral safety element of the packages. Generally these are 'normal' road traffic accidents or derailments, the impact of which might rupture a tank carrying dangerous goods. Moreover, stringent rules for the mixed packing and loading of dangerous goods in the same containment or vehicle in Community legislation are intended precisely to avoid situations where the consequences of a spill might be aggravated by the presence of a more volatile class of dangerous goods.

Indeed, overall, it is widely accepted that transport of dangerous goods has good safety record, given the inherent risks in this sector. Nevertheless, to improve matters further, the Commission has taken a number of initiatives in proposing tighter measures in this field. One of these is Council Directive 94/55/EC regarding the transport of dangerous goods by road ((OJ L 319, 12.12.1994. )) mentioned by the Honourable Member, another is the parallel Directive 96/49/EC ((OJ L 235, 17.9.1996. )) for rail transport. These directives, currently being implemented by Member States, guarantee an acceptable level of safety in the transport of dangerous goods within as well as between Member States. The annex includes measures to be taken in the event of an accident. Two further measures have also been adopted with a view to improving the level of safety in the transport of dangerous goods. Council Directive 95/50/EC ((OJ L 249, 17.10.1995. )) introduces a uniform system of checks on the transport of dangerous goods on the road and in undertakings. Incidents of non compliance are identified and penalised in order to improve safe practice in this sector. Council Directive 96/35/EC ((OJ L 145, 19.6.1996. )) on the appointment of safety officers in undertakings transporting dangerous goods establishes a system of reporting of accidents involving dangerous goods.