Despite its very low probability, an accident involving dangerous goods may turn into a catastrophe in a tunnel. On the other hand banning dangerous goods from certain tunnels will force them to use other routes that may be more dangerous, for example, those through urban areas. A number of tunnels have their own complicated lists of refused and authorized goods, with the corresponding quantities and packaging. The regulations differ a lot between countries, and often within countries, so that transport operation is very difficult to organize, and infringement made more likely. If dangerous goods are allowed in tunnels, should measures be taken to reduce the risks and if so, which ones? Is it worth installing and operating very expensive equipment whilst accidents are so rare? These questions have been raised for years but have not yet been satisfactorily answered. The OECD have been working on road transport of dangerous goods, and PIARC on the safety and operation of road tunnels. Following a joint seminar on Road Tunnels Management held in Lugano in 1990, both organizations decided in 1995 to launch a joint research project on the transport of dangerous goods through road tunnels. Project completion is planned for mid 2000, however, substantial results are already available and will be discussed at the Congress session devoted to the project, together with the contents of the remaining phases and the preliminary conclusions. These confirm the need for harmonized regulations to form a rational basis for decision making, a quantitative risk assessment/decision support model, and a review of risk reduction measures for specific situations. For the covering abstract see ITRD E118727.
Abstract