On the 24th and 25th of January, the ‘Accord Dangereuses Route’ qualification course, promoted by the 1st Reception and Sorting Group, will take place
The educational activity was conducted by a qualified instructor accredited by the Ministry of Transport with the aim of providing the mandatory training for non-driving personnel involved in the loading or dispatch of dangerous goods. The course concluded with a final theoretical assessment via a questionnaire, the passing of which enabled all participants to obtain the ADR qualification.
This initiative is part of the training activities of the Italian Air Force aimed at ensuring the maintenance of the skills and professionalism of personnel called upon to handle the delicate and complex movement of dangerous goods. The ADR is a European Agreement concerning the international carriage of dangerous goods by road. Signed in Geneva on 30 September 1957 and ratified in Italy by Law No. 1839 of 12 August 1962, the agreement regulates the classification of hazardous substances in relation to road transport, the rules and tests that determine the classification of individual substances as hazardous, the packaging conditions for goods, the characteristics of packaging and containers, the construction methods for vehicles and tanks, and the requirements for the means of transport, including transport documents.
Until a few years ago in Italy, which is one of the 45 contracting countries, as in many other States, a dual regulatory system coexisted: ADR for international transport and internal rules for national ones. Since 1st January 1997, however, the application of ADR rules has also become compulsory for domestic transport, by virtue of the European Union's intention to create a single market in this sector too. Consequently, the biennial revision of ADR (which enters into force in odd-numbered years) is the subject of an EU directive, transposed into the Italian legal system as a Ministerial Decree. The current revision has been compulsory since 1st July 2009. For this reason, the regulations stipulate that, every two years, already qualified personnel must be sent on refresher courses given the continuous evolution of this specific subject matter.
The 1st GRS is integrated into the Support Services system of the Italian Air Force Logistic Command, reporting directly to the Fiumicino Technical Supply Centre, with tasks involving the reception, dispatch, distribution and customs clearance of material coming from abroad and of military programmes also acquired in foreign countries. Since the nineties, representatives of the Royal Air Force, the Luftwaffe and the Ejército del Aire have been operating at the unit, established following the introduction of the Tornado Weapon System and the launch of the Eurofighter programme.
