EC aims to simplify op
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dangerous regs
THE EUROPEAN Commission plans to simplify the rules governing the transport of dangerous goods because it believes the current "patchwork of regulations are compromising safety.
A report by the European Parliament's lead MEP on the subject, Boguslaw Liberadzki of Poland, calls for the existing four EU Directives and two decisions covering dangerous goods to be merged and simplified.
Liberadzki says people are at risk if the correct means of transport are not used and training for operators and drivers is not good enough. In Spain in 1978 214 people were killed when a truck carrying gas exploded in a collision.
The report says EU member states should retain the right to regulate or prohibit the transport of dangerous goods across their territory for reasons such as national security or environmental protection, and that countries can have more stringent rules if they wish.
In some countries, such as the Netherlands and the UK, drivers who transport dangerous goods must have special training.