According to PETDER’s data, the transportation of dangerous goods in Türkiye is around 22 million tons, and 90% of these shipments occur via road. Based on this information, it is clear that ADR holds a very significant position. Despite this, the most important factor remains the human element. People must be educated first. As long as individuals are ignorant, untrained, and indifferent, no matter what precautions are taken, it is difficult to prevent accidents.
ADR is not only an international agreement that sets specific standards and rules for vehicles in terms of environmental safety, but it also plays a crucial role in raising awareness among drivers, handling personnel, and passengers. Türkiye’s history with dangerous goods transportation is not very recent. In fact, there were some initiatives in the 1950s regarding the placement of dangerous goods at ports. Later, in 1976, the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Settlement at the time published the Road Transport of Dangerous Goods Regulation. Additionally, ministries such as the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources have issued regulations on this subject.
However, many implementation issues have arisen, and thus it has not become effective in our country. It wasn’t until the 1990s, when Türkiye’s exports, trade, and industry began to develop, that the question of who and how dangerous goods would be transported—especially from Europe to Türkiye—came to the forefront. Transporting dangerous goods requires being a party to a specific agreement. To become a party, the drivers transporting these goods must be trained and certified. Türkiye was unable to provide this certification because it was not a party to the agreement. At that time, a cooperation agreement was made with Germany, and until 2010, Turkish drivers carried out international transport using German ADR certificates.
After Türkiye became a member, this became a domestic issue, and the country began training its own drivers. If we were to answer the question of whether the desired level has been reached today, we could say: progress is slow but steady. New regulations have been issued in this regard. The General Directorate of Dangerous Goods and Combined Transport Regulation was established. Most importantly, great emphasis is placed on driver and consultant training. There is now a qualified human resource in this field.
Currently, a harmonization project with the European Union is ongoing. Training is being provided on how inspections should be conducted. Road inspections have also begun, and the system is expected to become more robust. Regarding storage under ADR, we can say there are some challenges. We do have warehouses that meet the appropriate standards for storing certain dangerous goods. However, it is evident that this is not sufficient. The issue of storage requires specialized expertise and needs to be more widespread. Because we see that dangerous goods are being stored under unsuitable conditions. Therefore, it is essential to understand these standards well. And once again, education must be prioritized above all else.
In the chemical industry, legislation is constantly evolving. Alongside this, our ADR agreement is updated every two years. As we are subject to international regulations, continuous updates are necessary. This clearly shows that ADR is always in a process of development and specialization.
As Ulus Dangerous Goods Safety Consultancy Ltd., we have been providing consultancy services in the field of Dangerous Goods Safety since 2017 as an organization authorized by the Ministry of Transport.
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