Sea Containers

Units under fumigation – do not enter the container

Ingo Berger, Kiel

Since last year there have been a number of cases in which concentrations of health-damaging gas have been discovered in containers after they were given official clearance.

Apart from textiles and timber products, the goods concerned were packed on wooden pallets or in wooden crates or fastened with packaging timbers. It goes without saying that containers which have taped-over ventilation slits should be handled with caution.

The gases methyl bromide and sulphuryldifluoride, a gas now increasingly used abroad, cannot be identified by their smell. There are frequently no indications of fumigation, even in case of fumigation with phosphorous hydrogen. Monitoring tests in open storage areas are not always reliable because vestiges of fumigation remain in individually foil-packed goods over several days despite ventilation. Timber which is in containers, as well as pallets or packaging timber and also products themselves, can be so badly infested with fungi, that entering or unloading the container can result in the release into the air of health-damaging fungus spores.

Employers, whose workers open, check or unload containers or vehicles, should, to the best of their ability and in awareness of their responsibilities under employee-health protection legislation regulations, provide concrete instructions on how to recognise suspicious containers and what steps to take in such cases.

• Those who deliver such containers are obliged to tell others when containers have been fumigated.
• Freighting documents and container or vehicle identifications should be checked to establish whether the loading area has been fumigated and whether the container is now certified to be safe.
• Check whether ventilation slits are taped over or whether there are any other indications that the container has been fumigated previously. If it is not certain that the loading area is clear of gaseous substances, then a certified responsible person is to be called in (No. 9.3. Para.: 13 of the TRGS 512).
• Personal protection equipment is to be provided in the case of fungus infestation (single-use protective clothing with hood and breathing apparatus complete with FFP3 filters). Danger of contagion is to be noted !

These steps are to be laid down in handling instructions. Employees are to be instructed. In the event that there are unexpected indications of gas (suspicious smell, identifiable remains, carriage materials), then the instruction "neither enter nor leave the container. Seal and where necessary secure" is to be followed.

Do not panic: it is assumed that up to 40% of all goods arriving by sea from the Asian region have been fumigated. Despite this, the risk should not be over-estimated. There is only real danger when a container which has been fumigated is opened, inadvertently and without knowledge of the gas concerned. The dangerous area is then in the immediate area where the container was opened. Gas concentrations of short duration, causing acute poisoning symptoms, can occur. For this reason, a suspicious container should only be opened at a suitable location by a certified person.

(Der Gefahrgut-BEAUFTRAGTE 04/2003, originally published in German)

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