The Abu Dhabi Hazardous Materials Management Team (AD-HMMT) is working towards further strengthening the UAE's leading position among the world's top countries when it comes to the management of hazardous materials.

 

At its 81st meeting, AD-HMMT discussed recent achievements and efforts by member entities for a safe society and environment from hazardous materials risks and to protect society, properties and the environment from hazardous materials' affects.

 

The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) chaired the virtual videoconference meeting that was attended by all 28 member entities in the team, who represented all relevant local government organisations, as well as some federal entities.  

 

The meeting included a presentation by Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters, showcasing the latest achievements by the Permanent Technical Committee for Licensing Weapons, Explosives and Hazardous Materials, chaired by Brigadier Humaid Saeed Alefreet, Deputy Director of Security and Ports Affairs Sector at the General Command of Abu Dhabi Police. 

 

The achievements presented aligned with AD-HMMT's efforts to strictly control hazardous materials with the aim of providing maximum protection to society and the environment against their dangers.

 

The Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) of the Department of Economic Development (DED) also presented its work achieved to date on monitoring all industrial and commercial establishments that handle hazardous materials. 

 

The Bureau also covered the new procedures required to license storage facilities for industrial and commercial activities that will operate stores outside their main establishments, with specific requirements and conditions aligned with standards set by relevant government entities. 

 

Moreover, the meeting discussed the team's achievements in relation to preparing the unified guide that includes procedures related to handling hazardous materials and waste in various scenarios. The progress of linking the Integrated Hazardous Materials Management System (IHMMS) with all relevant entities in the emirate was also presented.  

 

During the meeting, participants discussed the outcomes of studies on the possibility of implementing the self-inspection system in hazardous material warehouses by all concerned entities in the emirate, which was executed by Abu Dhabi Digital Authority in cooperation with the AD-HMMT. 

 

Dr Sheikha Salem Al Dhaheri, Secretary General of EAD and head of AD-HMMT said: “Since its formation in 2015, the team has sought to implement best practices in order to significantly contribute to the management and control of hazardous materials. This is in addition to accelerating emergency responses as well as enhancing coordination and information exchange among relevant entities to protect the emirate, society and environment from the harmful impacts of hazardous materials and their control. Managing such materials is one of Abu Dhabi's main priorities, in line with federal and local laws concerning safety, security and environment.”

 

Dr Al Dhaheri asserted that the team is still working closely to improve cooperation and coordination among its member entities. This comes despite implementing the strategy and executive plan for hazardous materials management in Abu Dhabi, which were approved by the Security, Justice and Safety Committee of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and have been successfully rolled out across 48 projects in a five-year period. 

 

Brigadier Hamid Saeed Al Afreet, Deputy Director of Security and Ports Affairs Sector at the General Command of Abu Dhabi Police, said that monitoring and response systems in HazMat warehouses in the emirate were evaluated, with a process underway to link those warehouses with early-warning alarm systems. The move comes as part of ongoing efforts to protect the nation and its people and to spread the culture of safety among all industrial and commercial sectors. This should enable quicker control of fires in record times to avoid lives being lost, while also monitoring the efficiency and effectiveness of the warehouses’ alarm and firefighting systems to ensure their operational efficiency. 

 

He added that work is currently under way, in cooperation with the AD-HMMT, to review local and international standards and define the capacities of hazardous material warehouses, which would support inspection and follow-up processes for warehouses storing hazardous materials, fireworks, explosives and chemical precursors.  

 

He concluded that in cooperation with Abu Dhabi Civil Defense and the Integrated Transport Centre, a joint dashboard is being created to add results of safety checks for HazMat transport vehicles. This is a step that should further enhance control and effective management of licensing such vehicles, in line with the compulsory requirement to equip them with tracking devices.

 

Mohamed Munif Al Mansoori, the Executive Director of Industrial Development Bureau, stated that the Department of Economic Development – Abu Dhabi directed commercial and industrial establishments operating in the emirate with their own HazMat warehouses outside their main establishment to license those warehouses as branches. This comes within the Department's role to support controls on the movement of hazardous materials. The bureau coordinated with AD-HMMT to create new procedures related to licensing such branches outside existing company headquarters, in line with specific standards and requirements as set by relevant government entities.  

 

He added that the Bureau is targeting 900 licenses conducting these economic activities and registered at DED, to implement the new procedures in a manner that realises the mission and objectives of the AD-HMMT. He further noted that DED issued a circular obligating concerned commercial and industrial establishments to use the IHMMS – a key requirement to track the movement of hazardous materials within the economic system. 

 

He further explained that the team provided guidance to stakeholders on the use of the IHMMS, with the assistance of the Industrial Development Bureau, by contacting the relevant personnel directly in each facility. The compliance of 345 industrial establishment in Abu Dhabi was tracked in line with DED's circular.  

 

Nabil Saleh Al-Awlaki, Environment, Health and Safety Director at the Industrial Development Bureau, said: “The IDB team supervised the provision of support to register industrial establishments within the IHMMS framework and list their materials in the system.”  

 

He added that 100 field visits were conducted at facilities that possess materials of security concern, in order to ensure they abide by health and prevention requirements and public safety conditions. This involves conducting any activity that involves handling hazardous materials, including their use, transport and storage.  

 

Since its formation, the team has successfully implemented the hazardous materials strategy and executive plan, which was developed in response to gaps in legislative and executive frameworks throughout lifecycle of the hazardous materials. The implementation plan covers each stage, and includes the import, export and release, transportation, manufacturing, storage, trade, and distribution, as well as treatment and safe disposal of hazardous waste, all carried out within a legislative and regulatory framework.

 

The team, headed by EAD, comprises 28 entities that represent all relevant government agencies on the local level and some federal entities , including Abu Dhabi Police, the Department of Economic Development, Department of Finance, General Administration of Customs, Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, Adnoc,  ZonesCorp, Abu Dhabi Waste Management Centre – Tadweer, Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority, Department of Municipalities and Transport, Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre, National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority, Abu Dhabi Civil Defence, Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council, Abu Dhabi Ports, Polytechnic - Abu Dhabi, Federal Authority for Nuclear  Regulation,  Weapons and Hazardous Substances Office, Federal Transport Authority-Land & Maritime, Abu Dhabi Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training, Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, Abu Dhabi Digital Authority, Monitoring & Control Centre, Integrated Transport Centre and Security Industry Regulatory Agency.-- TradeArabia News Service