Regulation 20(2)
1. In this Schedule, the expressions mentioned in column 1 of the Table have the meanings given in column 2—
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| “assist in the intervention” | The taking of such steps, as it is reasonable and practicable in the prevailing circumstances to take, in order to prevent or decrease exposure. The circumstances to be taken into account include— (a) the weather conditions; (b) the time of the occurrence of the emergency; (c) the distribution of the local population; (d) the nature and content of the package involved; (e) the stability of the class 7 goods involved; (f) the nature of the local geography and ecology; (g) any other prevailing hazards; and (h) the relative importance of the emergency in relation to other calls that are being made upon the emergency services. |
| “intervention” | A human activity that prevents or decreases the exposure of persons to radiation from a radiation emergency or from an event which could lead to a radiation emergency, by acting on the sources of radiation, the paths by which such radiation may be transmitted to persons and on persons themselves. |
2.—(1) Every consignor, carrier and consignee carrying out the transport of a consignment shall—
(a)ensure that any members of the public who are in an area in which, in the opinion of the Northern Ireland competent authority, they are likely to be affected by a radiological emergency arising from the undertaking of that carrier, consignor or consignee are supplied, in the appropriate manner approved by the Northern Ireland competent authority and without their having to request it, with at least the information set out in sub-paragraph (2); and
(b)make that information publicly available, which includes endeavouring to enter into an agreement or arrangement with the district council in the area referred to in head (a) for the dissemination by that authority of the information required to be supplied to members of the public in accordance with that sub-paragraph.
(2) The following is the information that is to be supplied and made available—
(a)the basic facts about the radioactivity and its effects on persons and on the environment;
(b)the various types of radiological emergency possible and their consequences for the general public and the environment;
(c)the emergency measures envisaged to alert, protect and assist the general public in the event of the occurrence of a radiological emergency;
(d)appropriate information on action to be taken by the general public in the event of the occurrence of a radiological emergency; and
(e)the appropriate district council responsible for implementing the emergency measures and action referred to in (c) and (d) above.
(3) In preparing the information to be supplied and made available, the carrier, consignor or consignee shall—
(a)consult the Northern Ireland competent authority, but remain responsible for the accuracy, completeness and form of the information supplied; and
(b)endeavour to enter into an agreement or arrangement with the local authority in whose area the carrier, consignor or consignee is situated with respect to the dissemination by that authority of the information to members of the public.
(4) The information supplied and made available under this paragraph shall be updated—
(a)at regular intervals;
(b)whenever significant changes to any of the matters mentioned in sub-paragraph (2) take place; and
(c)in any event, at least every 3 years.
(5) When information is updated in accordance with sub-paragraph (4) it shall be supplied and made publicly available in accordance with sub-paragraph (2).
3.—(1) Any—
(a)employee or agent of a consignor, carrier or consignee, or
(b)person of whose services a consignor, carrier or consignee makes use in the carriage of dangerous goods,
who assists in an intervention and is liable to be subjected to emergency exposure shall be treated as being a person classified pursuant to regulation 20 of the Ionising Radiations Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000(1) (“the 2000 Regulations”) and, accordingly, the consignor, carrier or consignee (as the case may be) has the same duties with regard to the monitoring of such persons as are imposed upon an ‘employer’ by regulations 21 to 26 of the 2000 Regulations.
(2) To the extent it is necessary in order to save human lives, an emergency exposure is permitted as a result of which the dose limit specified in paragraph 1, 2, 6, 7 or 8 of Schedule 4 (Dose Limits) to the 2000 Regulations will be exceeded, provided that the person who is proposed to be subjected to a dose in excess of the limit provided for in the relevant paragraph is a volunteer and has been informed of the risks involved in the intervention.
(3) In this paragraph, “emergency exposure” means an exposure of a person engaged in an activity of, or associated with, the response to a radiation emergency or potential emergency in order to bring help to endangered persons, prevent exposure of a large number of persons or save a valuable installation or goods where one of the individual dose limits referred to in paragraphs 1 or 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 4 to the 2000 Regulations could be exceeded.
4.—(1) Before the carriage of a package begins, the consignor of that package shall ensure that there is a plan in writing setting out such emergency arrangements as are appropriate for the carriage of that package.
(2) The plan shall be prepared having regard to—
(a)the principle that intervention is to be undertaken only if the damage due to the radiation resulting from the radiation emergency is sufficient to justify the potential harm and the potential cost (including the social cost) of that intervention;
(b)the principle that the form, scale and duration of the intervention should ensure that the benefit to health will be greater than any harm that might be associated with the intervention itself;
(c)the dose limits provided for in Schedule 4 to the Ionising Radiations Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000; and
(d)the levels of radiation dose applicable in an emergency that are specified by the Health Protection Agency pursuant to its functions under section 3 of the Health Protection Agency Act 2004(2).
(3) To the extent that the plan is used in relation to carriage on more than one occasion, the consignor shall review and, whenever necessary, revise his emergency arrangements and shall ensure that at suitable intervals they are tested.
5.—(1) The driver of a vehicle or train carrying class 7 goods who discovers, or has reason to believe, that a notifiable event has occurred in relation to the transport unit or train he is driving shall—
(a)immediately notify—
(i)the Chief Constable;
(ii)the Chief Fire and Rescue Officer (within the meaning of the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006); and
(iii)the consignor,
of that event;
(b)initiate the emergency arrangements in respect of any radiological emergency; and
(c)assist in the intervention that is made in connection with that radiological emergency.
(2) The carrier of class 7 goods who becomes aware of the occurrence of a notifiable event in relation to those goods shall—
(a)immediately notify—
(i)the Chief Constable (unless the driver of the transport unit or train has already done so); and
(ii)the Northern Ireland competent authority,
of that event;
(b)assist in the intervention that is made in connection with any radiological emergency; and
(c)as soon as is reasonably practicable, arrange for the examination of the load so as to determine whether contamination has arisen and, if it has, to arrange for the safe disposal of any part of the load that has been contaminated and for the decontamination of the transport unit or train.
(3) If a consignor of class 7 goods becomes aware of the occurrence of a notifiable event in relation to those goods the consignor shall—
(a)immediately notify—
(i)the Chief Constable; and
(ii)the Northern Ireland competent authority,
of that event (unless either the driver or the carrier has already done so);
(b)assist in the intervention that is made in connection with any radiological emergency; and
(c)provide the Northern Ireland competent authority with details of the incident that gave rise to that emergency.
(4) If a consignor of class 7 goods becomes aware that emergency arrangements have been initiated in relation to his consignment the consignor shall notify the Northern Ireland competent authority of the initiation of those arrangements even if, in the event, no intervention was made pursuant to those arrangements.
(5) If a notifiable event occurs the carrier shall ensure that a report is made forthwith to the Northern Ireland competent authority.
(6) The report required under sub-paragraph (5) shall be in a form which has been approved by the Northern Ireland competent authority and shall contain all relevant information which the Northern Ireland competent authority has communicated to the carrier that it considers necessary.
(7) In this paragraph—
(a)“notifiable event” means
(i)a radiological emergency;
(ii)the theft or loss of the class 7 goods being carried; or
(iii)an occurrence subject to report as construed in accordance with Sub-section 1.8.5.3; and
(b)“initiate the emergency arrangements” means the taking of such steps as it is reasonable and practicable to take in order to put into effect the actions that have been planned for in the emergency arrangements.
6. A package that has been involved in a radiological emergency shall not be carried or caused to be carried unless the consignor or the consignor’s agent has examined it and the consignor is satisfied that it complies with the requirements of these Regulations and has issued a certificate to that effect.
7.—(1) The consignor and carrier shall provide to the Northern Ireland competent authority, within such reasonable period as the Northern Ireland competent authority may specify, such documents relating to the emergency arrangements as may have been requested by the Northern Ireland competent authority.
(2) To the extent required by a notice in writing served on the consignor or carrier by the Northern Ireland competent authority, the consignor or carrier shall test, rehearse and revise the emergency arrangements.
S.R. 2000 No. 375 as amended by S.R. 2001 No. 436 and to which there are other amendments not relevant to these Regulations