Introduction to General Principles

1. General health and safety principles

There are many generic hazards which can arise during the examination and sampling procedure. There are also specific hazards relevant to certain goods.

You must take a proactive approach to protect your own safety and that of other people working with you or for whom you are responsible.

You must also make sure that you do not expose others to greater risks either through contamination of the goods or, as a result of your own action, by leaving the goods in a dangerous state.

2. Health and safety procedures

Good health and safety practices are everyone’s responsibility. National legislation will dictate how your health and safety policies are implemented. However, as a guide, every system should include:

a stated policy on individual and corporate responsibility for safety;
a set of risk assessments for the locations and the work being done, identifying hazards and countermeasures;
safe working practice guides giving specific recommendations about safe procedures for completing the work;
an accident reporting procedure which allows lessons to be learnt and fed back into the risk assessments and safe working practice guides;
regular reviews to ensure that the risk assessments and safe working practice guides are kept up to date (at least annually — or following any change affecting health and safety).

When working in dangerous environments it is good practice to work in teams of at least two. You may also operate a ‘buddy’ system where two officers are responsible for each other’s safety. Basic first-aid training given to all staff will enable them to give swift help to any colleague in difficulties.

2.1 Risk assessments

Risk assessments may cover either a location or a procedure. They should cover all the possible hazards and countermeasures. You should conduct risk assessments for each location where sampling takes place. Additional risk assessments will be required for certain types of goods posing a specific hazard (e.g. bulk grain — respiratory sensitiser).

A risk assessment is a process to manage and control health and safety by:

identifying the hazard;
evaluating the risk;
introducing preventive and protective measures to reduce or eliminate the risk;
reviewing the control measures to make sure they are still appropriate.

Copies of risk assessments should be available to anyone entering or working in the area and should be reviewed annually or when any change affecting the location or procedure occurs.

Generic risk assessments may be used as a basis for local risk assessments. An example of a risk assessment is given in Appendix A. Your national administration may use different forms or procedures but the principle remains the same. Additional guidance on risk assessment can be found at: https://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/factsheet-80-risk-assessment-roles-and-responsibilities

2.2 Disposal of waste or spoiled goods generated during the sampling procedure

Many sampling procedures will produce goods or material which are spoiled or not used as part of the sample, but which cannot be returned to the cargo. Each case must be considered in the light of the following criteria:

Health and safety — spillages or unused portions of oils, spirits and dangerous chemicals drawn from the consignment must be disposed of safely, bearing in mind any information on the SDS;
Food hygiene — unused portions of food samples must be disposed of in such a way that they will not enter the food chain nor contaminate sewage or water supplies. Such disposed food should be protected from rodents or other scavengers;
National guidelines and local procedures (on the trader’s premises) which make specific provision for spillages and waste.

2.3 Safe working practice guides

You should agree standard safe working practices with managers and/or health and safety experts for particular locations and procedures. These include working in or on:

freezers;
top of road/rail tankers or other bulk containers;
bulk grain handling;
traders’ premises (i.e. unfamiliar locations);
areas where cranes and fork-lift trucks are operating;
container terminals;
roll-on/roll-off terminals;
rail terminals.

This list is not exhaustive.

Safe working practices may cover such aspects as:

personal protective equipment to be used;
notification of the operator;
making sure a colleague or operator is always present to ensure your safety;
procedures for access to the location;
sampling equipment;
sampling procedures.

This list is not exhaustive.

An example of a safe working practice guide is given in Appendix B. Your national administration may use different forms or procedures but the principle remains the same.

3. Safety and warning signs

Signs and labels are provided to protect your health and safety and that of the people working with and around you. You must observe the signs at all times and take any precautions.

European directives have been adopted to standardise safety and warning signs. However, existing signs may not match the new designs. If it is not clear what a sign means you should seek advice from the person responsible for health and safety at your location, whether it is a port, quayside, warehouse or on board a vessel or aircraft.

The United Nations has introduced international hazard warning signs for goods transport and they are used all over the world.

This section therefore gives an overview of the types of signs used and of their general meaning.

3.1 Prohibition signs

A prohibition sign means that the action or activity indicated is prohibited. You must obey these signs at all times. Some show just a symbol, others have explanatory text beneath.


No Smoking	Not Drinking Water	No Pedestrian access

Failure to obey these signs could put yourself and others at risk of injury or death.

3.2 Warning signs

Warning signs are intended to alert you to possible hazards. The hazard may be intermittent or permanent. The sign is there to remind you of the possible danger.


General Warning	Caustic or acidic	Extreme Cold

You must consider the hazard and take the necessary precautions. The first sign above gives a general warning — text may be added to spell out a hazard which is not covered by the recognised symbols or it may warn of a range of hazards.

3.3 Mandatory signs

Mandatory signs indicate a specific safety measure that you must take before you enter the designated area or proceed with your tasks. Failure to observe these signs could put you at risk of immediate injury and/or long-term health problems.

If the correct equipment is not available you must not carry on.


Eye Protection	Head Protection	Ear Protection	High Visibility Clothing

As with other signs, there may or may not be an explanation underneath (further examples are shown here).

3.4 Safety signs

As well as the Prohibition, Warning and Mandatory Signs they will be a variety of safety signs including emergency exit signs in case of fire, First Aid signs and Fire fighting equipment signs.


First Aid Kit	Eye Wash	Shower	Fire Extinguisher	Emergency Exit	Escape Route

As in the previous cases, the sign may contain text. You should familiarise yourself with the location of these signs before you start work. Safe fire exits and procedures should be included in the risk assessment and safe working practice guides.

3.5 Labelling of dangerous goods for transport

As goods are transported all over the world, the signs and labels used on chemicals and dangerous goods when they are transported have been agreed at the United Nations under the Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on the Classification, Labelling and Packaging of substances and mixtures (CLP) brought European legislation into line with these rules and contributes to the aim of the GHS that the same hazards should be described and labelled in the same way all over the world. The CLP Regulation uses internationally agreed classification criteria and labelling methods and will complement the REACH Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals (Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006).

Together with package for the CLP Regulation, the European Parliament and the Council adopted two related acts which adapt further EU legislation to the new rules on classification and labelling: Directive 2008/112/EC and Regulation (EC) No 1336/2008.

Note: A global set of signs and symbols has been introduced (click here for more examples).

Further examples of GHS signs can be found at: http://www.unece.org/trans/danger/publi/ghs/pictograms.html

Full details of the GHS can be found on the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) website at: http://www.unece.org/trans/danger/danger.html.

Further information on this subject can be found on the Europa website at: https://echa.europa.eu/-/updated-interactive-guide-on-safety-data-sheets-and-exposure-scenarios-available.

The labels may also contain a code letter indicating the specific nature of the hazard.

E	Explosive
O	Oxidising
F+	Extremely Flammable
F	Highly Flammable
R10	Flammable
T+	Very toxic
T	Toxic
Xn	Harmful
C	Corrosive
Xi	Irritant
R42 and/or R43	Sensitising
CarcCat(1)	Carcinogenic
MutaCat(1)	Mutagenic
ReprCat(1)	Toxic for reproduction
N or/and R52, R53, R59	Dangerous for the environment

3.6 ADR

The ADR (Accord européen relatif au transport international des marchandises Dangereuses par Route) is a European agreement concerning the international carriage of dangerous goods by road concluded under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. It dates back to 1957, but is regularly updated. The current version was agreed in 2023 (ADR 2023 - Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road).

The agreement sets out the conditions under which hazardous goods may be transported.

Annex A regulates the merchandise involved, notably its packaging and labels.
Annex B regulates the construction, equipment and use of vehicles for the transport of hazardous materials.

Goods transported by road are divided into hazard classes:

Class 1: Explosive substances and articles containing explosives;
Class 2: Gases;
Class 2.1: Flammable gas (e.g. butane and propane acetylene);
Class 2.2: Non-flammable and non-toxic gas likely to cause asphyxiation (e.g. nitrogen and CO₂) or oxidisers (e.g. oxygen);
Class 2.3: Toxic gas (e.g. chlorine and phosgene);
Class 3: Flammable liquids;
Class 4.1: Flammable solids, self-reactive substances and solid desensitised explosives;
Class 4.2: Substances liable to spontaneous combustion;
Class 4.3: Substances which, in contact with water, emit flammable gases;
Class 5.1: Oxidising substances;
Class 5.2: Organic peroxides;
Class 6.1: Toxic substances;
Class 6.2: Infectious substances;
Class 7: Radioactive material;
Class 8: Corrosive substances;
Class 9: Miscellaneous dangerous substances and articles.

Each entry in the different classes has been assigned a four-digit UN number. It is not usually possible to deduce the hazard class(es) of a substance from its UN number: you have to look them up in a table. Exceptions to this are substances in Class 1, whose UN number always begins with a 0.

Note: in addition to the ADR, there are similar agreements on transport of goods by rail and inland waterways:

the RID (the Regulations concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail) published as Appendix C to the Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) concluded at Vilnius on 3 June 1999 and last amended in 2019;
the ADN (the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterways) concluded at Geneva on 26 May 2000, and last amended in 2013.

European Union Directive 2008/68 on the inland transport of dangerous goods applied the ADR, RID and ADN rules to internal movements as well as to international transport.

WARNING: These hazard classes under the ADR do not correspond directly to the hazard categories under the GHS. As a rule, the class or category will give only an indication of the nature of the hazard. You should check the H and P phrases for more detailed information on the precise nature of the hazard and on the precautions you need to take.

3.7 Safety data sheet (SDS)

Any goods labelled as in one of the classes described above should be accompanied by a safety data sheet (SDS). The SDS will provide detailed safety information on the product including:

identification of the substance;
composition/data on components;
hazards identification;
first-aid measures;
fire-fighting measures;
measures in the event of accidental release;
handling and storage;
exposure precautions and personal protection;
physical and chemical properties;
stability and reactivity;
toxicological information;
ecological information;
disposal considerations;
transport information;
regulations;
other information.

Click here to see an example of a safety data sheet.

All SDS will refer to standard warning phrases. These are a set of agreed hazard and prevention (H and P) phrases, which have been translated into all languages. If the code for the phrase is shown, its meaning can therefore be understood anywhere in the world. A full list of H and P phrases can be found here.

The H and P phrases are being introduced under the Globally Harmonised System (GHS) promoted by the UNECE and under Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008.

The warnings, restrictions and preventive measures indicated on the SDS must be followed at all times.

If you cannot establish with absolute certainty that goods are harmless and you do not have an SDS or comparable information or if there are doubts about the chemical nature of the goods you need to seek expert opinion.

See the Chapter Sampling of dangerous goods.

You may also be presented with an international chemical safety card (ICSC). This contains similar information to an SDS. If no SDS is available, the ICSC may be an acceptable alternative to keep you safe. However, you should always request the SDS. Click here to see an example of an ICSC.

You must refer to the legislation and the guidance of your national administration for more information.
The guidance contained in this section intended to serve as a general reminder of the risks that are sometimes encountered during the examination and sampling procedure and of the safety equipment that you should use and precautions that you should take.

Introduction to general principles