Mainly on the Elbe River - Central Europe

classified as hazardous according to the regulations, these regulations must be followed.
Otherwise, if the chemicals are not classified as hazardous, it is handled as any other commodity
according to the valid regulations on road, railway and inland water transport.
Hazardous materials can be characterized as substances with one or more dangerous qualities
classified by law. Hazardous materials occur in areas of production, processing, storing and
transporting. Accident involving hazardous materials is an exceptional event when the material
gets out of control (leaking from containers or equipment) in amount causing threat to population,
animals and the environment and requiring rescue and liquidation works.
Characteristic features of an accident involving leak of hazardous materials are:
- the transporting vehicle or container is labeled by warning plates, orange reflective
plates, safety signs and handling marks;
- color of vegetation changes or decays, small animals in a close proximity are dying;
- unusual phenomena during burning and fire formation (unusual color of the flame and
smoke, smell, explosions, fervent flames and spontaneous combustion, rapid spread of
fire even on non-flammable materials);
- mist, quivering air, hissing of gas, cracking structures;
- unusual wrappings, glass containers, pressure cylinders, thick insulations on containers.
Road transportation of hazardous materials follows the European Agreement concerning the
International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR), the railroad transportation is
regulated by the Regulations concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by
Rail (RID), and the inland waterway navigation by the European Agreement concerning the
International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterway (ADN).
These regulations harmonize the transporting conditions, including the compulsory labeling, in
order to minimize risks, which may occur during accidents or extreme situations.
Such regulations defines material and its level of dangerousness. The classification of materials
contains five elements: class, classification code, wrapping cluster, the UN number and the official
label.
A feasibility study for “Improvement of Conditions for the River Transport in Central Europe (mainly on the Elbe
River)“ realized within the ChemLog project 41