EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 78/163

(2004/C 78 E/0168)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2769/03

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(16 September 2003)

Subject: Dangerous Goods Safety Advisor examinations

1. Can the Commission confirm that a Dangerous Goods Safety Advisor (DGSA) in the UK is currently only required to be qualified and examined on ADR/RID (transportation of dangerous goods by road/rail), and not the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code, even if the DGSA is advising on the transportation of dangerous goods going by sea?

2. If so, is the Commission satisfied that organisations transporting dangerous goods by sea can employ DGSAs who have no training or qualification in sea transport?

3. Does the Commission intend to propose amendments to the current Directive to ensure DGSAs have a compulsory examination in IMDG Code or an appropriate equivalent?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(23 October 2003)

According to ADR, RID and Directives 96/35/EC (1) and 2000/18/EC (2), the safety advisers in the United Kingdom have to have undergone training and passed examination, in order to have a vocational certificate, valid for the mode or modes of transport concerned. The scope of the Directives above is the transport of dangerous goods by road, rail and inland waterway (referring to ADN). In other words, the scope does not cover the maritime transport — consequently the scope of the safety adviser's training and certificate neither.

There is no need to extend the field of a safety adviser, authorised on the basis of ADR/RID/ADN (or Directives 96/35/EC and 2000/18/EC), to maritime transport. Specific rules laid down in the IMDG Code are applicable to maritime transport of dangerous goods. In addition, under the International Safety Management code (ISM Code), which is world-wide mandatory for all types of ships operating on international voyages, it is the responsibility of the company responsible for the ship to engage competent personnel to ensure that the appropriate safety and environmental protection policy is implemented and maintained at all levels of the company both for its ship-based and shore-based activities.

The scope of ADR/RID/ADN and of its regular updating machinery in the auspices of United Nations — Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE) is clearly limited to the transport of dangerous goods by road, rail and inland waterway only. Since the scope of Directives 96/35/EC and 2000/18/EC, in terms of transport mode, focuses on the one of ADR/RID/ADN, it is not advisable to amend these Directives out-of-scope. In contrast, it could be considered, whether some kind of horizontal approach could be found for the safety advising function of the transport of dangerous goods in all four transport modes: by road, rail, inland waterway and maritime.

(1) Council Directive 96/35/EC of 3 June 1996 on the appointment and vocational qualification of safety advisers for the transport of dangerous goods by road, rail and inland waterway, OJ L 145, 19.6.1996, p. 10-15.

(2) Directive 2000/18/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2000 on minimum examination requirements for safety advisers for the transport of dangerous goods by road, rail or inland waterway, OJ L 118, 19.5.2000, p. 41-43.