The Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road Regulations 1996

Testing and examination of the carrying tanks of road tankers and tank containers

2.—(1) Dangerous goods shall not be carried in the carrying tank of a road tanker or in a tank container unless—

(a)for the purpose of ensuring that they are properly maintained, there has been prepared and there is carried into effect a suitable written scheme for—

(i)the initial and periodic examination, and

(ii)the initial and, where appropriate, periodic testing,

of the relevant carrying tank or tank container and its fittings by a competent person;

(b)before being brought into use for the first time for the carriage of dangerous goods, the relevant carrying tank or tank container was certified by a competent person as suitable for the purposes for which he understood it was to be used and those purposes were specified in the certificate; and

(c)subject to sub-paragraph (13) below, there is in existence a current report signed by the competent person who carried out the most recent examination and test in accordance with the scheme required by paragraph (a) above, stating—

(i)the date or dates on which the said examination and test were carried out and the results thereof,

(ii)the date before which any further examination and, where appropriate, test must be carried out, the interval to that date being that specified in the written scheme referred to in paragraph (a) above or such shorter interval as the competent person may specify,

(iii)that the relevant carrying tank or tank container remains suitable either for the purposes specified in the certificate for that tank referred to in paragraph (b) above or for the purposes specified in a further certificate issued under sub-paragraph (10) below, or, if it is no longer suitable for any of those purposes, the purposes for which it is suitable, and

(iv)in the case of a pressure vessel, the maximum working pressure to which the vessel may be subjected.

(2) Where, before 1 June 1992, there was in existence in respect of the carrying tank of a road tanker or a tank container and any fittings attached thereto a suitable written scheme drawn up in accordance with regulation 7(2)(a) of the Dangerous Substances (Conveyance by Road in Road Tankers and Tank Containers) Regulations 1981(1), that written scheme shall be deemed to be a suitable written scheme in existence in respect of that tank or tank container and those fittings drawn up in accordance with sub-paragraph (1)(a) above.

(3) Subject to sub-paragraph (13) below, dangerous goods shall not be carried in the tank of a road tanker or in a tank container if—

(a)the carrying tank or tank container concerned or any fittings attached thereto have been damaged, modified or repaired in such a way as might affect their safety since either the report referred to in sub-paragraph (1)(c) was issued or, where the carrying tank or tank container is such as is specified in paragraph 3(1), the tank and its fittings were last examined and tested under—

(i)ADR,

(ii)RID, or

(iii)the IMDG Code; or

(b)in the case of a pressure vessel, the pressure in the vessel exceeds the maximum working pressure specified in the report referred to in sub-paragraph (1)(c) above.

(4) It shall be sufficient compliance with sub-paragraph (1)(c) above if—

(a)the competent person referred to therein first enters his report in a computer under the operator’s control and then duly authenticates it; or

(b)where the competent person does not enter it in a computer under the operator’s control, the report is transferred to such a computer by, or on the instructions of, the competent person as soon as is practicable after he first enters it in a computer and duly authenticates it.

(5) The procedure referred to in sub-paragraph (4) may only be used if the report—

(a)is capable of being reproduced in written form when required at the appropriate place referred to in paragraph 4(1);

(b)is secure from unauthorised interference; and

(c)can be authenticated only by the competent person.

(6) Every carrying tank of a road tanker and every tank container, subject to sub-paragraph (7) below, shall have securely fastened to it, or to any support which is welded to that carrying tank or tank container, in a readily accessible position, a corrosion-resistent plate on which the following information is indelibly marked—

(a)the name or identifying mark of the manufacturer of the carrying tank or tank container;

(b)the serial number of the carrying tank or tank container by which it can be identified;

(c)the date of the most recent examination and test carried out in accordance with sub-paragraph (1) above; and

(d)in the case of a pressure vessel, the maximum working pressure to which the vessel may be subjected.

(7) Where compliance with sub-paragraph (6)(c) above is not possible because there is no more room on a corrosion-resistant plate, the date concerned shall be indelibly marked on an additional corrosion-resistant plate which shall be securely fastened to the relevant carrying tank or tank container, or to any support welded thereto, in a readily accessible position; and, in such a case, that additional plate shall also be marked in accordance with sub-paragraphs (6)(a), (b) and, where appropriate, (d) above.

(8) Where any corrosion-resistant plate such as is described in sub-paragraph (6) or (7) above and which is securely fastened to the carrying tank of a road tanker or to a tank container is covered by an insulating layer which surrounds that carrying tank or tank container, a duplicate corrosion-resistant plate, indelibly marked with the same information as is marked on the plate which is covered as aforesaid, shall be securely fastened to the exterior of that insulating layer.

(9) Where the carrying tank of a road tanker, a tank container or the fittings of any such tank have been damaged, modified or repaired in such a way as might affect their safety since either the report referred to in sub-paragraph (1)(c) above was issued or, in the case of any carrying tank or tank container such as is specified in paragraph 3(1) that tank and its fittings were last examined and tested under ADR, RID or the IMDG Code, the provisions of sub-paragraph (1) above or, as the case may be, ADR, RID or the IMDG Code shall apply in respect of any such tank and its fittings as if the tank had not previously been used for the carriage of dangerous goods.

(10) Where the competent person is satisifed that the carrying tank of a road tanker or a tank container is suitable for purposes other than those specified in the certificate referred to in sub-paragraph (1)(b) above he may endorse the certificate to that effect or issue a further certificate specifying those purposes.

(11) In this paragraph “competent person” means a competent individual person, other than an employee, or a competent body of persons corporate or unincorporate, and accordingly any reference in the provisions referred to in this paragraph to a competent person performing a function includes a reference to his performing it through his employees.

(12) It shall be the duty of the operator of any road tanker or tank container to comply with the provisions of this paragraph.

(13) Notwithstanding sub-paragraphs (1)(c) and (3) above, the operator may transport by road, uncleaned tanks in respect of which the relevant certificate has expired for the sole purpose of undergoing the tests with a view to renewing that certificate.