Workshop on Transportation of Dangerous Goods
October 18, 2001, New Delhi

Special address of Shri Chirayu R Amin, President

Hon’ble Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, Maj Gen. B C Khanduri, Chief Controller of Explosives, Shri R H Bhalekar, Co-Chairman of FICCI Chemicals Committee Shri S N Singh, Chairman, ICMA Northern Region, Shri Daljit Singh, Dr Amit Mitra, Ladies and Gentlemen

We are privileged to have the Hon’ble Minister as well as a distinguished Panel of Speakers to address this workshop. I am also glad that this event is being organized jointly by FICCI and ICMA – one of our premier member bodies.

You all must be aware that after the September 11 attack, there is tremendous concern in the United States about movement of hazardous substances. It was believed that hazardous materials would be used for destroying buildings. The US is now laying great emphasis on monitoring the movement of hazardous goods. According to recent news, a total of 29 people in America have been arrested for illegally obtaining licences to transport hazardous materials in trucks. Such incidents throw up a lot of concern about the loopholes in a system and the need to address such concerns. India has a lot to learn from the experiences of other countries.

In India, flammable and toxic chemicals are transported in large quantities by road. LPG, motor spirit and diesel oil account for bulk of this transport. There are
other hazardous chemicals which are also transported by road in relatively smaller but significant quantities.

India is the third most accident prone country with record 11.7 accidents per thousand vehicles. Given the increasing trend in the transport of hazardous goods by road and also increasing trend of accidents, the need for establishing an effective system to tackle such transit emergencies has been well accepted. Certain significant and scientific steps are required to be taken by industries, transport agencies, fire brigades and other first responders. A regular and systematic approach to training in the area of hazardous material transportation is also needed.

Transportation accidents always involve the public and hence public awareness plays an important role. It is necessary to make all the stakeholders and first responders aware of the hazards of transportation of dangerous goods and how to minimize such hazards. Public leaders and the media would need to take initiatives for bringing about the required awareness amongst the public, with the help and support of the chemical industry, professional institutions, social workers and enforcement authorities.

It is also very important to provide adequate training to drivers. Drivers engaged in transportation of hazardous materials are the weakest links among the various safety measures required for the purpose. A study carried out by Central Road Research Institute in few cities in North India some years ago indicated that 87% of the drivers were never asked to produce TREMCARDS or questioned about the Emergency Information Panel, 50% were either illiterate or had only primary level education, 60% had no specialized training in transportation of hazardous chemicals and 50% were unaware of the telephone numbers of the Police Control Room or Fire Brigades. Only 7% displayed correct Emergency Information Panels. Moreover, most were not provided with requisite safety equipment and were unaware of the name of the chemical being transported.

Movement of hazardous substances therefore acquires greater significance in India than the developed countries for a variety of reasons including poor quality of roads, inadequate communication facilities, low literacy and awareness among drivers, poor maintenance of vehicles, over-loading and high density of vehicular traffic roads which aggravates the situation further.

What is equally important is to create an effective emergency response mechanism that can come to the quick rescue whenever an accident occurs. However, it may not be possible to create totally new infrastructure for establishing a countrywide network of such response centres. FICCI believes that a number of industrial units which have already set up sophisticated in-house emergency response systems are good candidates for this role. Ofcourse, there may be places where there are no such units and we may have to set up totally new emergency response facilities. By and large, we are of the view that this is an area where industry and government can work together to resolve the problem. On behalf of FICCI, I would like to extend all possible assistance to the government in this regard.

Thank you.