EN 12972, “Tanks for transport of dangerous goods. Testing, inspection and marking of metallic tanks,” has just been updated. The new 2015 Edition is now available and replaces the previous 2007 Edition. While it is a European Standard, there is some contention regarding it’s ability to completely meet the actual requirements of the European Agreements Concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail (RID) and by Road (ADR).
EN 12972 was developed to support the needs of the agreement for transportation via road. The standard itself covers fixed tanks (tank vehicles), demountable tanks, rail tank wagons, portable tanks and tank containers for the transport of dangerous goods. In it, you’ll find coverage of testing, inspection and marking for the type approval, initial inspection, periodic inspection, intermediate inspection and exceptional check of metallic tanks (shell and equipment).
However, the 2015 Edition was adopted by a vote of the member states that was deeply divided, with two states voting against the standard and a number of states abstaining. The concern? That during the comment period questions regarding the safety of tanks transporting gases were not adequately addressed, raising a number of concerns about materials that are explosive when exposed to water, etc. So when you use this standard, you’ll note that there’s a disclaimer that “[i]t is essential that the requirements of the applicable regulations for the transport of dangerous goods prevail in all cases over those of this standard.”
Of course, you may ask why there’s a European standard that appears to not be able to meet the requirements of the European legislation. I note that this is a particular problem that has been cropping up lately, as regulatory approval of standards development in the EU is less of a rubber stamp than in the past.
Of course, with all the concerns about the transportation of dangerous goods raised by recent rail accidents involving petroleum shipments, industry is looking for ways to minimize the risks associated with the transport of these materials. It appears from the concerns raised by the U.K. and others in the EU, that there’s still a ways to go before standards will offer a methodology for assuring compliance to the realities of legal requirements in that jurisdiction.
However, if you use the standard, you’ll need a copy of the most recent update as you cannot ignore the changes that have been made to this publication. At Document Center, you have a number of options. Currently you can purchase the new 2015 Editions as the BS EN 12972 (British), SS EN 12972 (Swedish), and DS/EN 12972 (Danish). The DIN EN 12972 (German) is expected to be available in April. The technical content of each of these national adoptions is identical and all are published in English, so you can use any one of them with confidence.
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