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facilities for storage are limited we consider that the regulations
are in general practicable and should be strictly enforced for the
benefit of the public. We further consider that such enforcement should
present no great hardship to owners of goods or to p2w-owners.
Classification of Dangerous Goods by Fire Insurance Companies and
Their Tariff:
78. We have said earlier that the failure to observe the regulations
was in our opinion principally due to ignorance, but we consider that the tariffs of the Fire Insurance Companies are a contributory cause.
The basic idea of the fire insurance tariff is simple. Goods are divi-
ded into three classes, "non-hazardous", "hazardous" and "extra-hazard-
ous", which classification is set out in detail in Appendix 4 together with the equivalent category of the commodity in the Dangerous Goods
Regulations. We understand that this classification is basically the
same as that adopted by fire insurance companies the world over, but
it is simpler than that adopted in the United Kingdom. Its merit is
its simplicity; its fault is that it is simplified to the extent of
directing the eyes of owners of goods and owners of godowns away from
the official regulations regarding the storage of goods.
79. The premiuns charged for the insurance of goods stored in a "non-
hazardous godown" are less than those charged for storage in a "hazard-
ous godown", and so on. The insurance certificate includes a warranty
that the insurance will be invalid if goods of a more hazardous nature
are stored in a godown for which a less hazardous rate is charged. This
therefore puts upon the godown-keeper an obligation to his customers
to store only certain classes of goods. If the classification of goods
corresponded more closely to that adopted in the dangerous goods regul-
ations, it would be an invaluable adjunct to the observation of the law.
"Haxardous" goods are for the most part those placed in the regulations
under Category 8. "Extra-hazardous" goods include representatives from
every other category of dangerous goods, but the tariff places no re-
striction on their storage within the same premises, while the regulat-
ions usually insist on segregated storage especially of cinematograph