Page 32 - Port Of Hamburg Magazine 04.2019

■ INNOVATIVE INDUSTRY
CLASSIFICATION IS OFTEN VERY DIFFICULT
Classifying and evaluating substances harmful to wa- ter is one of the tasks that a logistics manager must perform. Regrettably, however, it is precisely these details that are often not available. Operations pro- ceed on the basis of Transport Law and thus only the details required by Hazardous Goods Law are availa- ble. Yet Major Incident Law relates to the latter. Legislators are not (yet) going to sufficient trouble to embody classifications in Transport Law into evalua- tions under Harmful Substances Law. So every indi- vidual operator is challenged and responsible. That demands not only considerable effort, but in many cases produces only incomplete findings. Collective identities under transport law are therefore very dif- ficult to relate to a dangerous substance.
DATA NOT AVAILABLE
Additional problems arise because storage compa- nies, forwarders, intermodal and container terminals and others are not the recipients of goods. Because they are involved only in the transport process, they do not automatically receive safety data sheets from manufacturers or shippers. Even if they do, these are not necessarily in German. Not every substance transported and stored will enter circulation in Germa- ny. It could simply be being transported through the country. So a safety data sheet need not be issued to the logistics companies, and substance data are not sufficiently available.
SUMMARY
The law on permits and major incidents requires thorough knowledge of substances from plant oper- ators in the logistics sector. Solutions need to be found that facilitate linking up data on dangerous
substances with the transport data. If this does not happen, companies are at risk of not having the nec- essary permits for their plant, and/or of failing to ap- ply for those required.
Additional information on the ‘New Rules in Major Incident Law – Application for companies in the logistics, handling and transport sector’ is provided by the company specializing in this area, namely UMCO GmbH in Hamburg. ■
Contact: umco.de, akademie.umco.de
PETER DUSCHEK, Managing Partner UMCO
Zur Person
As managing director and expert in the field of corporate environmental protection, Peter Duschek looks back on decades of practical experience. He covers an area ranging from permit procedures through plant safety to complex management systems. As consultant and trainer, he travels daily to meet his clients throughout Germany.
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KNOWING PRECISELY WHAT’S INSIDE IS THE MOST VITAL PREREQUISITE FOR LEGAL CERTAIN- TY WHEN PROVIDING LOGISTICS AND STORAGE FOR CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES
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