In the past, several life-threatening incidents occurred during the transport of bulk cargoes in inland vessels. These cargoes had been fumigated with phosphine to control pests. Many agencies were involved in these incidents, including emergency services, Rijkswaterstaat, the Safety Region, the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT), the Labour Inspectorate, and various local governments.
Responsibilities and regulations were not clear to everyone during these incidents, leading to prolonged resolution. This caused public unrest. To improve the handling of similar incidents in the future, the ILT developed an operational instruction in the interest of safety. The operational instruction for incidents with fumigated cargoes in inland shipping consists of several steps and is secured at the emergency services control rooms to standardize the handling of such incidents.
Tablets
Phosphine is used in the international transport sector to protect cargo against pests. Phosphine is added to the cargo in loose tablets or multiple tablets in a sleeve. During loading and unloading, such as from a seagoing vessel or train to an inland vessel, the loose tablets disappear among the cargo and are difficult to trace.
Odorless
If tablets remain in the cargo, a reaction (phosphine gas) can occur during subsequent transport due to changing humidity. This can be dangerous: phosphine in gas form is colorless, odorless, flammable, and can be deadly even at low concentrations when inhaled.
In incidents involving phosphine gas, emergency services must be alerted immediately. It is then necessary to inform the ILT. As the authority supervising the transport of hazardous materials, the ILT decides whether the vessel can continue its journey.