Harper government acts to increase safety in the transportation of dangerous goods
OTTAWA, Oct. 17, 2013 /CNW/ - Today, the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport, acted to further enhance safety in the transportation of dangerous goods by directing that a protective direction be issued requiring any person who imports or transports crude oil to conduct classification tests on crude oil.
"As the Speech from the Throne reiterated yesterday, our government remains committed to taking action to protect public safety, and we will take targeted action to increase the safety of the transportation of dangerous goods," said Minister Raitt. "We are continuing to do that today with the issuance of this protective direction."
Effective immediately, any person who imports or transports crude oil must:
- Conduct classification testing of any crude oil being classified as UN 1267 or UN 1993, which has not undergone classification testing since July 7, 2013;
- Make those tests results available to Transport Canada upon request;
- Update their Safety Data Sheets and immediately provide them to Transport Canada's Canadian Transport Emergency Centre; and
- Until such testing is completed, ship all such crude oil as Class 3 Flammable Liquid Packing Group I, when shipping by rail.
Transport Canada continues to work in cooperation with the Transportation Safety Board as it conducts its investigation into the tragic accident in Lac-Mégantic. Transport Canada is building upon the safety advisories received from the Transportation Safety Board and is further enhancing the safety of railway operations and dangerous goods transportation in Canada.
The Transport Canada investigation following the accident in Lac-Mégantic is ongoing. Any person who imports, handles, offers for transport or transports dangerous goods must comply with the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, its regulations and standards.
Oil and gas are routinely shipped safely across the country every day. There are over 30 million shipments of dangerous goods every year in Canada with 99.999 percent of them reaching their destinations without incident. Railway safety and transportation of dangerous goods regulations exist to ensure the safety and protection of the public. The protective direction was issued pursuant to section 32 of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992.
SOURCE: Transport Canada
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