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21.
Dangerous Goods of Fort Classes A, B, C and D.
These include the whole range of industrial chemicals and many substances in everyday use. Many of them warrant a degree of over-all control in their arrival, shipment, storage and movement which does not at present exist to an adequate extent. In order to exercise control, the Committee considers that it is essential that the Chief Officer, Fire Brigade, should be kept fully aware of the place of storage of these substances, as well as of the movement of certain extra-hazardous items.
This can be achieved by the special manifest proposals put forward in the draft Regulations, and the Committee recommends that no Dangerous Goods of the above Port Classes be moved, landed (except into a licensed Dangerous Goods storage place or other authorised place) or exported, except by permission of the Chief Officer, Fire Brigade.
The procedure detailed is the result of exhaustive con- sultation amongst members of the Committee and its efficient fulfilment will be dependent on the co-operation of the firms concerned in handling Dangerous Goods.
It is recommended that the Fire Brigade should continue its task of licensing Dangerous Goods storage places, but it is not pro- posed that the Fire Brigade should be responsible for any proposal con- cerning the water transport of Dangerous Goods and Explosives.
It is recommended that the Marine Department exercise all supervision of the collection of information and dissemination thereof to the Fire Brigade and Police, where necessary; complete technical supervision of surveys and inspections of all fire appliances on ships carrying Dangerous Goods or Explosives, and the proper stowage thereof; the supervision of all loading and unloading places, as relative to the type of vessel and type and quantity of Dangerous Goods; and the important task of acquainting shipmasters, owners and agents of their obligations under these proposed Regulations and the penalties for non- compliance. These tasks will involve an increase of staff, if regular inspections of ships loading and discharging are to be made.
A paramount need, as the Committee sees it, is to instil some degree of appreciation amongst the dealers and handlers of many of these substances of the danger which may arise from them; while, generally speaking, ships' officers and personnel are aware of the dangers of these substances, the same awareness does not exist amongst dealers, warehousemen, transport owners and workers.
In order that a serious attempt by those concerned shall be made to understand the nature of the substances which are being handled, the Committee, under Terms of Reference (c), (e) and (f), recommends that the handling of Dangerous Goods and Explosives in all stages should be in the hands of reputable firms of stevedores, lightermen and warehousemen.
Froposals are therefore made as to the licensing of warehousemen and storage places which follow the present practice, except that the forms of licence have been elaborated, and for the bonding and licensing of firms of stevedores and lightermen. The Shipping Sub-Committee also strongly pressed for the bonding and licensing of land transport companies engaged in the conveyance on land of Dangerous Goods. We agree that this would seem to round off an excellent system of control, but we consider that, at least for the present, a restriction which would confine the carriage of Danger- ous Goods to a few large transport companies would be an undue res- traint on trade. For one thing, many of the larger importers have their own motor-transport system, which they conduct with a full aware- ness of the need for care, and Dangerous Goods in small quantities are
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