What Is ADR? The Definitive Guide

Transport of dangerous goods needs to be regulated in order to prevent, as far as possible, accidents to persons or property and damage to the environment, the means of transport employed or to other goods.

However, with different regulations in every country and for different modes of transport, international trade in chemicals and dangerous products would be seriously impeded, if not made impossible and unsafe. Moreover, dangerous goods are also subject to other kinds of regulations, such as work safety regulations, consumer protection regulations, storage regulations and environmental protection regulations.

In order to ensure consistency between all these regulatory systems, the United Nations has developed mechanisms for the harmonisation of hazard classification criteria and hazard communication tools (GHS – Globally Harmonized System) as well as for transport conditions for all modes for transport (TDG – Transportation of Dangerous Goods).

In addition, the UNECE administers regional agreements that ensure the effective implementation of these mechanisms as far as transport of dangerous goods by road, rail and inland waterways are concerned.

The key article is the second, which say that apart from some excessively dangerous goods, other dangerous goods may be carried internationally in road vehicles subject to compliance with the following:

• The conditions laid down in Annex A for the goods in question, in particular as regards their packaging and labelling; and the conditions laid down in Annex B*, in particular as regards the construction, equipment and operation of the vehicle carrying the goods in question.
• Annexes A and B have been regularly amended and updated since the entry into force of ADR. Consequently, to the amendments for entry into force on 1 January 2011, a revised consolidated version has been published as document ECE/TRANS/215, Vol. I and II (“ADR 2011”).
• The structure is consistent with that of the United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Model Regulations, the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (of the International Maritime Organization), the Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air (of the International Civil Aviation Organization) and the Regulations concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail (of the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail)

Annex A: General provisions and provisions concerning dangerous articles and substances

• Part 1 General provisions
• Part 2 Classification
• Part 3 Dangerous goods list, special provisions and exemptions related to limited and excepted quantities
• Part 4 Packing and tank provisions
• Part 5 Consignment procedures
• Part 6 Requirements for the construction and testing of packagings, intermediate bulk containers (IBCs), large packagings and tanks
• Part 7 Provisions concerning the conditions of carriage, loading, unloading and handling

Annex B: Provisions concerning transport equipment and transport operations

• Part 8 Requirements for vehicle crews, equipment, operation and documentation
• Part 9 Requirements concerning the construction and approval of vehicles

Applicability of ADR 2019 and limits of validity of previous editions published by the United Nations