The National Road Traffic Act incorporates SANS 1518 in Chapter 8. This incorporation of the standard thus makes it a legal requirement to comply with SANS 1518 when building a dangerous goods vehicle. SANS 1518 was issued for the first time at the end of March 2004( SANS 1518:2004), followed by SANS 1518:2008 in March 2008 and then SANS 1518:2011 in March 2011. The next revision, being SANS 1518:2017 will be published shortly.

The current relationship between SANS 1518 and ADR is that SANS 1518 refers to certain sections of ADR by direct reference to specific sections and paragraphs. These ADR requirements are not repeated in SANS 1518. This reference to ADR started with SANS 1518:2008. The current version of SANS 1518, being 2011, states that it is based on the“ latest” edition of ADR. As author of SANS 1518, I know this was ADR 2009. SANS 1518:2017, in turn, states that it is based on ADR 2015.

A key issue to consider, is that SANS 10231( the dangerous goods operating standard, also incorporated in the Act) states that the tank construction standard applicable at the time of construction will apply. This, for example, means that a tank built, say, in October 2008, will comply with SANS 1518:2008 and it does not have to comply with later editions of SANS 1518( unless of course there are specific matters that need to be attended to retroactively!). A second item of major importance is that the operator of the vehicle is fully responsible to ensure compliance with

the tank construction standard and any other statutory requirements. Operators must thus ensure that they understand the requirements and that the vehicle compliance is confirmed before taking ownership and deployment. It is not acceptable to live with the belief that the tank builder alone should know what the requirements are.

The references to ADR include those to the actual tank design standard to be applied. For example, SANS 1518:2011 refers to the use of EN14025 for pressure vessels and EN12493 for LPG tanks( remember, SANS 1518 only applies to road tankers, not static tanks or rail tankers). The third-party inspection body( or the competent authority as referred to in SANS 1518) may allow the use of another tank design( for example BS5500 or ASME VIII), but the tank must still comply with the minimum technical requirements of EN14025 or EN12493.

UNDERSTANDING THE TANK CODE

SANS 1518:2004 introduced the concept of the four-character tank code for the first time. Each product listed in section 3 of ADR( a section referenced by SANS 1518) has an applicable tank code shown against it. For example, if we look at anhydrous ammonia, UN1005, the code is PxBH( M)( the‘( M)’ is not really a fifth character, it is merely an extension of the fourth, being the‘ H’). This is interpreted as follows:

P A pressure vessel for liquefied or dissolved gasses. x This is the calculation pressure for the tank. In the case of UN1005, the‘ x’ will be replaced by a‘ 26’ for a tank with thermal insulation, or a‘ 29’ for a tank without thermal insulation. The‘ 26’ and‘ 29’ is the pressure in bar. B A tank for bottom-filling or discharge with three closures on the filling / discharge line.

H A hermetically closed tank. The‘( M)’ means that the product may be carried in a UN Multiple Element Gas Container( UN MEGC).( An LPG tanker, by comparison, requires an‘ N’ as the fourth character and thus has to be fitted with pressure relief that is not hermetically closed.)

The term‘ hermetically closed’ means that:

• The tank has no pressure or vacuum relief; or

• The tank has no pressure relief but has vacuum relief; or

• If pressure relief is fitted to the tank, it must consist of a pressure relief valve preceded by a bursting disc.

The tank code must be displayed on the tank manufacturer’ s plate.

Pressure vessel construction, however, also falls under the control of SANS 347, which is the standard governing conformity assessment of pressure vessels as applied by the Department of Labour. This standard includes SANS 1518 as a recognised safety standard that pressure equipment may comply with. CLA

Operators must thus ensure that they understand the requirements and that the vehicle compliance is confirmed before taking ownership and deployment.

* WHAT IS ADR?

ADR— formally, the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road( ADR)— is a 1957 United Nations treaty that governs transnational transport of hazardous materials. ADR is derived from the French name for the treaty, Accord européen relatif au transport international des marchandises Dangereuses par Route.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hentie van Jaarsveldt has been intimately involved in the road transportation of dangerous goods in southern Africa for the past 30 years. He has gained extensive experience and in-depth knowledge in the operation, design, construction, and maintenance of the related vehicles as transport manager of a multinational oil company and managing director of a leading manufacturer of road tankers. He has furthermore been a longstanding member of the SABS technical committees for SANS 1518, 10231, and 10232; attends the ADR technical meetings in Switzerland; and can be regarded as the lead author of SANS 1518. As specialist technical and operational consultant since 2005, he has assisted a number of bluechip clients across sub-Saharan Africa with the specification, procurement, and maintenance of vehicles and equipment and the associated operational management and control systems, among other functions.