Updates on Dangerous Goods Safety Advisory and Treatment Chemicals as Dangerous Goods

Hazardous Substances Road Transport Regulation updates and the recently published Directive on Authorization of Hazardous Substance Safety Consulting Organizations (TMGDK) have elevated hazardous substance safety consulting service quality and applicability to a position where it will be recognized and valued. Today, Hazardous Substance Safety Consultants, needed across dozens of different sectors, are accelerating sector momentum under TMGDK coordination and providing positive contributions to the companies they support, ensuring operational efficiency.

(TMGDK; Hazardous Substance Safety Consulting Organization Authorized by the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Transportation, Maritime and Communications)

As of 1 January 2018, Hazardous Substance Safety Consultants within TMGDK will be able to provide services to a total of 8 different operations or to 8 different locations together with their branches. If a company wishes to employ its consultant in-house, the Hazardous Substance Safety Consultant must be fully insured with the TMGD occupational code and assigned exclusively to these professional activities. A consultant employed full-time can provide services to a single company or to up to 5 different locations belonging to that company under the same tax number. Operating TMGD under a different occupational code will entail serious penalties, and the consequences will drag the company into both financial and ethical difficulties. The criteria established for the obligation to receive hazardous substance safety consulting services or to employ full-time continue to apply. For Class 1, Class 6.2 and Class 7, a Hazardous Substance Activity Permit must be obtained regardless of quantity. For all other hazard classes, facilities with annual activity volumes of 50 tonnes or more must obtain a Hazardous Substance Activity Permit. Subsequently, the obligation to receive services from Hazardous Substance Safety Consulting Organizations or to maintain a Hazardous Substance Safety Consultant in-house comes into effect. Additionally, facilities engaged in substances with Transport Category zero (0), including explosives, have the obligation to employ a Hazardous Substance Safety Consultant or to receive services from TMGDKs regardless of quantity. Finally, there are steps to be taken for companies engaged in hazardous substance activities below 50 tonnes. A company believing it operates below 50 tonnes must enter into an agreement with TMGDK and have a study conducted and report prepared for all hazardous substances. According to the prepared report, if operations are found to be below 50 tonnes, the company will apply to the Ministry of Transportation, Maritime and Communications of the Republic of Turkey to request an "Exemption Certificate." This certificate and annual activity volume study will be renewed each year. With notification by authorities of the Ministry of Transportation, Maritime and Communications of the Republic of Turkey, in all municipal fire department license inspections, first the Hazardous Substance Activity Permit will be checked—if no Consultant, then the Exemption Certificate will be queried.

What Are the Differences Between Facilities Employing TMGD In-House and Receiving Services from TMGDKs?

When a company employs TMGD personnel in-house, they must be employed full-time and assigned to a single facility exclusively under the TMGD social security occupational code. If that facility has branches with identical tax numbers, the TMGD can provide services to a total of up to 5 facilities. A facility obligated to maintain TMGD will pay social security premiums under the established social security occupational code for the TMGD it employs in-house and cannot authorize personnel for other activities. For example, since an Occupational Safety Specialist's social security premiums are also paid under their own code, both professions cannot be carried out simultaneously. For this reason, considering salary, insurance, compensation and liabilities, professional service procurement is more suitable for organizations. When services are obtained from an authorized TMGDK, the firm providing TMGD services is liable for material damages arising from non-compliance with obligations or misinterpretation of requirements; however, in problems that may arise from TMGD employed by the facility itself, the facility assumes full liability. On the other hand, when services are procured externally, the service provider's sectoral experience and knowledge will be diverse, making their ability to generate solutions and exercise greater caution against variable conditions more developed than that of a TMGD serving a single company. In conclusion, working with Authorized Hazardous Substance Safety Consulting Organizations, which provide financial and organizational momentum to the sector, offers significant advantages for companies.

Are Treatment Chemicals Hazardous Substances?

To determine whether a substance is hazardous under the scope of ADR, it is necessary to check the valid and approved SDS forms prepared by TÜRKAK-approved Safety Data Sheet Preparers for that substance. SDS documents include 16 sections accepted at the international level. SDS documents will be amended in the near future to include Exposure Scenarios in accordance with REACH/KKDİK. In summary, the purpose of Regulation No. 29204 on Safety Data Sheets for Hazardous Substances and Mixtures is to regulate the administrative and technical procedures and principles regarding the preparation and distribution of Safety Data Sheets to ensure effective control and supervision against the negative effects that hazardous substances and mixtures placed on the market may create on human health and the environment. Section 14 in SDS content indicates ADR-IMDG-RID obligations, namely those related to transport of hazardous substances by road, sea and rail. In treatment chemicals, we must check the 14th main section on a current and accredited SDS. Based on my field and content experience, I wish to state that I have witnessed many treatment chemicals classified as hazardous substances under both Environmental and ADR legislation. Facilities producing, purchasing, selling or transporting treatment chemicals that contain substances classified as hazardous and conduct annual operations totaling 50 tonnes or more must obtain a Hazardous Substance Activity Permit and maintain a Hazardous Substance Safety Consultant. When the culture of hazardous substance safety consulting is established and its organization is applied professionally, facilities will not only see a reduction in accident numbers but will also advance by leaps and bounds in stages such as quality and operational efficiency. Companies that actively establish their systems and support the Hazardous Substance Safety Consulting Organization they work with will definitely progress positively with better financial performance. Seyit Erdem Türkmen / Chemical Engineer and TMGD Regional Coordinator / TMGD TR Mühendislik LTD. ŞTİ. Okay Selçuk / Chemical Engineer and TMGD Regional Coordinator / TMGD TR Mühendislik LTD. ŞTİ.