What is a Dangerous Substance?
Dangerous Goods are substances (or articles) that fall into nine Classes which are prohibited for carriage unless undertaken according the ADR regulations (the rules that apply to the transport of Dangerous Goods by Road in the UK & Europe) and at Topspeed we are experts in this complex field.
With a full-time Dangerous Goods Safety Adviser (DGSA) at Board level, the majority of Topspeed’s employed drivers and operational support team are trained in accordance with ADR and, by working closely with our partners DG Global Forwarding based at Heathrow, we have many years’ experience in the safe and compliant carriage of Dangerous Goods throughout the UK, Europe and the Rest of the World.
Although Topspeed carries many different products spread across all nine classes of ADR, we particularly specialise in the transportation of 6.2 Infectious Substances and Class 7 Radioactive Material.
Infectious Substances are divided into two categories:
- Category A – Infectious substances affecting humans & animals
- Category B – Biological substances
Typically these types of substances are biomedical samples from hospitals and laboratories for testing and analysis. Indeed, Topspeed are the contracted couriers for many organisations and government agencies including the Food Standards Agency (FSA), Public Health England and the Animal & Plant Health Agency.
Of particular importance is that, due to the high-risk nature of Category A samples, carriage of these are subject to additional security measures set out in ADR which means that Topspeed has to be very careful in the way these are carried. In contrast to this, category B samples are not subject to many of the provisions of ADR and are therefore easier to transport.
Clearly, to ensure the highest levels of safety and compliance, the carriage of both Radioactive Material and Infectious substances requires the sender, carrier and receiver to all work closely together and Topspeed often provide advice on the ADR regulations as well as compliant documentation and packaging
Topspeed Couriers are on the Crown Commercial Services Framework RM1006 as approved carriers for Dangerous, Hazardous and Secure Goods. To discuss your requirements please call us on 0800 856 2464