08/10/2001 - An internationally accepted approach to the transport of dangerous goods through road tunnels should be applied as part of a drive to reduce the danger of accidents caused by explosions, fires or the release of toxic fumes from trucks carrying hazardous loads, according to a new OECD report.
"Safety in Tunnels: Transport of Dangerous Goods through Road Tunnels" draws on the analysis of 33 major tunnel fires that have occurred around the world over the past 50 years, including one in the Mont Blanc Tunnel between France and Italy in March 1999 that caused the deaths of 39 people. It proposes an overhaul of risk management systems and the adoption of five categories of hazardous goods cargoes against which tunnel safety can be assessed..
The decision to allow dangerous goods through a tunnel should not be based on the characteristics of the tunnel alone, but on a comparison of risks associated with possible routes. Under the proposed system, a tunnel accepting "grouping A" cargoes would be authorised to allow trucks carrying the most dangerous loads. By contrast, "grouping E" would involve a ban on vehicles carrying dangerous loads through tunnels.
Specifically, proposed dangerous load "groupings" are as follows:
Grouping A: access would be permitted for all dangerous loadings that are authorised on open roads. Grouping B: access would be permitted for all loadings in grouping A except those which may lead to a very large explosion such as liquid petroleum gas in bulk. Grouping C: access would be permitted for all loadings in grouping B except those which may lead to a large explosion such as of non-flammable compressed gas in bulk or the release of a large quantity of toxic gas or volatile toxic liquid. Grouping D: access would be permitted for all loadings as in grouping C except those which may lead to a large fire. Grouping E: no vehicles carrying dangerous goods would be allowed access.
Signposts should be erected at the entrance to all road tunnels indicating the grouping of goods permitted, restrictions on access and alternative routes, the OECD says. It calls on the United Nations Committee of Experts for the Transport of Dangerous Goods to implement the regulatory framework.
However, the report also stresses that the regulations can be adapted to local conditions. For instance, access to a tunnel for certain groupings of dangerous loads may be restricted to certain hours of the day or night or may be authorised with an escort of security or police vehicles. The harmonisation of regulations would make compliance and enforcement easier while streamlining transport operations, the report adds.
With the recommendations already tabled at the UN committee, Ceallach Levins, head of the tunnel safety project within the OECD's Transport Division, said he believes they have a good chance of being implemented, particularly in Europe. "Such a project would have been difficult for a single country to carry out," he said. "Its success is largely due to international co-operation."
The recommendations, drawn up jointly with the World Road Association (PIARC), are backed by a range of risk assessment tools, devised by an international consortium as part of the project. These include scientific assessment models based on a range of accident scenarios and methods to help rational decision-making in managing tunnel safety.
The report found that most fires involving trucks in tunnels appeared to have been caused by mechanical or electrical problems in the trucks, often contracted while driving on steep, high-altitude approach roads to the tunnel. Among the OECD's suggested fire safety improvements are the fitting of automatic fire extinguishers to all heavy goods vehicles, improved training in emergency procedures for drivers and the building of lay-bys on mountain roads leading up to tunnels so that truck engines can be allowed to cool down.
Journalists may obtain an electronic version of the report from the Media Relations Division. Paper copies will be available later this month. On sale through the OECD online bookshop.
For further information, journalists are invited to contact Stephen Di Biasio in the OECD's Media Relations Division (tel. 33 1 45 24 81 03).
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"Safety in Tunnels. Transport of Dangerous Goods through Road Tunnels"
OECD, Paris 2001
Available in electronic format (pdf)
€20; FF131.19; US$19; DM39.12
ISBN 92-64-19651-X (77 01 04 1)
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