The Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010

[F1 Duties of drivers, escort commanders, masters, carriers and consignors in the event of a radiation emergency N.I.

6.— (1) The driver or escort commander of a vehicle or train, or the master of a vessel, carrying class 7 goods, in the event of a radiation emergency, or the occurrence of an event which could lead to such an emergency, involving those goods—

(a) shall, as soon as reasonably practicable, notify the following—

(i) the emergency services;

(ii) the Northern Ireland competent authority;

(iii) the consignor; and

(iv) the carrier;

(b) shall initiate the emergency plan; and

(c) if a radiation emergency occurs, shall assist in the handling of that radiation emergency.

(2) If the carrier of any class 7 goods becomes aware of the occurrence of a radiation emergency, or the occurrence of an event which could lead to a radiation emergency, involving those goods, the carrier—

(a) shall, as soon as reasonably practicable, immediately notify the following of the event—

(i) the emergency services, unless the driver, escort commander or master has already done so; and

(ii) the Northern Ireland competent authority; and

(b) if a radiation emergency occurs, shall assist in the handling of that radiation emergency.

(3) If the consignor of any class 7 goods becomes aware of the occurrence of a radiation emergency, or the occurrence of an event which could lead to a radiation emergency, involving those goods, the consignor—

(a) shall, as soon as reasonably practicable, notify the following of the event—

(i) the emergency services, unless the driver, escort commander, master or carrier has already done so;

(ii) the Northern Ireland competent authority, unless the carrier has already done so;

(b) shall give the Northern Ireland competent authority details of the relevant event; and

(c) if a radiation emergency occurs, shall assist in the handling of that radiation emergency.

(4) The consignor shall also notify the Northern Ireland competent authority that the emergency plan is initiated, even if no action is taken pursuant to that plan.

(5) The carrier of any class 7 goods which are involved in a radiation emergency shall, as soon as reasonably practicable—

(a) arrange for the examination of the load to determine whether any contamination has occurred; and

(b) if contamination has occurred—

(i) arrange for the safe disposal of any part of the load which has been contaminated; and

(ii) arrange for the decontamination of the vehicle, train or vessel.

(6) In addition, in the event of a radiation emergency occurring, or on the occurrence of an event which could give rise to a radiation emergency, the carrier and the consignor—

(a) as soon as reasonably practicable, shall make a provisional assessment of the circumstances and consequences of such an emergency, and for this purpose shall consult—

(i) the emergency services;

(ii) the health authority;

(iii) the Northern Ireland competent authority;

(iv) Public Health Agency(1); and

(v) any other person, body or authority which has functions under the carrier or the consignor’s emergency plan;

(b) as soon as reasonably practicable and in any event within 12 months beginning with the date on which the plan was initiated, or such longer period as the Northern Ireland competent authority may agree, shall make a full assessment of the consequences of the emergency and the effectiveness of the emergency plan put into effect as a result of the emergency; and

(c) within 28 days of the completion of the assessment made under paragraph (b), shall make a report of the findings of the assessment and retain a copy of that report for at least 50 years from the date on which it is completed.

(7) The carrier and the consignor shall provide the Northern Ireland competent authority with a copy of the report made under sub-paragraph (6)(c) within the period of 28 days beginning with the date on which it was completed.

(8) For the purposes of this paragraph “initiate the emergency plan” means take such steps as it is reasonable and practicable to take in order to put into effect the actions that have been planned for in the emergency plan.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Sch. 2 substituted (18.6.2019) by The Carriage of Dangerous Goods (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019 (S.R. 2019/111), reg. 1, Sch. (with reg. 7)

(1)

Cm 3812; COTIF was modified by the Protocol signed at Vilnius on 3rd June 1999 (Cm 4873)