(Provisional Translation)

7th Report of Market Access Ombudsman Council (March 18, 2002)

3-(1) Review of the standard concerning domestic transport volume of poisonous and deleterious substance by tank container

1. Complainant: Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry: U.S. Embassy

2. Ministry concerned: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

3. Background:

When transporting inorganic cyanide (limited to liquid) or hydrogen fluoride or their derivatives in a container, the capacity of the container must be 10,000 liters or less (Article 40-2 of the Enforcement Order of the Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Law).
When transporting inorganic cyanide (limited to liquid) or hydrogen fluoride or their derivatives in a container, if the capacity of the container is 2,000 liters or more, breakwater plates must be installed inside the container (The same article of the same law).

4. Complaint:

(1) Article 40-2 of the Enforcement Order of the Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Law stipulates that when transporting inorganic cyanide (limited to liquid) or hydrogen fluoride or their derivatives in a container, the capacity of the container must be 10,000 liters or less.
On the other hand, since international standards on containers (IMDG CODE, ADR agreement rules, etc.) do not regulate the capacity of containers used in international transportation of poisonous or deleterious substances by tank container, they are often transported in amounts exceeding 10,000 liters. This causes trouble when importing poisonous or deleterious substances to Japan.
Therefore, Japanese standards should be revised so that transportation by tank container will be made possible without any restrictions on their capacity, as in the United States and Europe.

(2) The same article of the same law stipulates that when transporting inorganic cyanide (limited to liquid) or hydrogen fluoride or their derivatives in a container, if the capacity of the container is 2,000 liters or more, breakwater plates must be installed inside the container.
However, since international standards on containers (IMDG CODE, ADR agreement rules, etc.) say that breakwater plates do not need to be installed when substances fill more than 80% of the container's capacity. This causes trouble when importing poisonous or deleterious substances to Japan in a container not equipped with breakwater plates.
Therefore, the Japanese standards for installation of breakwater plates should be brought into line with international standards.

5. Results of deliberation:

Regulations concerning the capacity of containers and breakwater plate installation requirements in transportation of inorganic cyanide or hydrogen fluorine raise domestic transportation costs and hinder their smooth import to Japan. The ministry concerned should complete its investigations designed to modify the standards promptly and revise the Cabinet ordinance so that transportation costs will be reduced.

Based on the above, the ministry concerned should take the following measures with regard to transportation of poisonous or deleterious substances by tank container.

(1) The ministry should promptly complete investigations with regard to standards for transportation of poisonous or deleterious substances by tank container, review the standards in order to conform them to international standards, and revise the Cabinet ordinance early in FY2002.

(2) In revising the Cabinet ordinance, the ministry should study making regulations that will maintain the conformity of domestic standards with international standards in accordance with changes in international standards.

Government decision (March 20, 2002)

3-(1) Review of the standard concerning domestic transport volume of poisonous and deleterious substance by tank container

The following measures will be taken regarding the standard concerning domestic transport volume of poisonous and deleterious substance by tank container.

A The ministry will promptly complete investigations with regard to standards for transportation of poisonous or deleterious substances by tank container, review the standards in order to conform them to international standards, and revise the Cabinet ordinance early in FY2002.

B In revising the Cabinet ordinance, the ministry will study making regulations that will maintain the conformity of domestic standards with international standards in accordance with changes in international standards.