The Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail Regulations 1996

PART V:LOADING AND UNLOADING

Prohibition on overfilling tank containers and tank wagons

16.  No person shall cause or permit any tank container or tank wagon, or any compartment thereof, to be filled beyond its safe level with any dangerous goods.

Prohibitions on mixed loading and segregation of certain dangerous goods

17.—(1) No person shall cause or permit to be carried in any container or wagon any of the mixed loads of dangerous goods specified in Schedule 6.

(2) No train operator shall cause or permit to be carried in his train any consignment of dangerous goods unless that consignment is adequately segregated from any other consignment of dangerous goods carried with it in such a way as to prevent the creation of a significantly greater risk than each of the consignments of dangerous goods is liable to create separately.

Loading, stowage, unloading and cleaning of containers, tank containers, tank wagons and wagons

18.—(1) The operator of a container, tank container, tank wagon or wagon which is being used for the carriage of dangerous goods and any other person engaged in such carriage shall take such steps as it is reasonable for them respectively to take to ensure that nothing in the manner in which dangerous goods are loaded, stowed or unloaded from the container, tank container, tank wagon or wagon concerned is liable to create a significant risk or significantly increase any existing risk to the health or safety of any person.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1), no person shall cause or permit to be carried in any container or wagon—

(a)any package containing dangerous goods unless any requirements specified in Part I of Schedule 7 relating to those goods have been complied with;

(b)any empty, uncleaned packagings unless any requirements specified in Part II of Schedule 7 relating to the residues therein have been complied with.

(3) The operator of any container, tank container, tank wagon or wagon which is to be loaded with dangerous goods shall ensure that those goods will not, in conjunction with any product remaining in the container, tank container, tank wagon or wagon concerned, create a significant risk or significantly increase any existing risk to the health or safety of any person which arises out of the presence of that remaining product.

(4) No person shall cause or permit any food to be carried in any container, tank container, tank wagon or wagon which is being used for the carriage of toxic goods unless that food is effectively separated from those goods or is otherwise adequately protected from the risk of contamination by those goods.

Openings, valves and caps of tank containers and tank wagons to be securely closed

19.—(1) Subject to paragraph (3), the operator of a tank container or tank wagon which is to be used for the carriage of any dangerous goods shall ensure that—

(a)all openings in the tank container or tank wagon concerned; and

(b)in the case where any discharge or filling opening in the tank container or tank wagon concerned is fitted with more than one valve or is fitted with a cap, all such valves and that cap,

are securely closed prior to carriage.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), the train operator whose train is being used to carry any tank container or tank wagon containing dangerous goods shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that—

(a)all openings in the tank container or tank wagon concerned; and

(b)in the case where any discharge or filling opening in the tank container or tank wagon concerned is fitted with more than one valve or is fitted with a cap, all such valves and that cap,

remain securely closed during carriage.

(3) Nothing in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be taken as permitting the proper functioning of any safety device to be compromised.