Unusual HazChem Truck

Author
Discussion

pacman1

Original Poster:

7,323 posts

200 months

Friday 15th October 2010
quotequote all
Spotted early hours Wednesday, moving through Gloucester.
Plate code 2X 3291. Google says it's clinical waste, but the plates were on a large tanker, so it got me intrigued.
Initially I wondered whether this lorry was going between hospitals, picking up low grade liquid waste of some sort. Seemed a bit strange to me, so on further investigation via my friend Google, I found this.
Turns out to be bio-medical waste being transported in liquid nitrogen - hence the tanker.
So, being a nosey git, I wondered if any PHer's could shed some light on this, since it seems a bit extreme.
What sort of medical waste needs to be transported in liquid nitrogen??

Petrolhead_Rich

4,659 posts

199 months

Friday 15th October 2010
quotequote all
Frozen Bits? (Just a Guess)

Sixpackpert

4,703 posts

221 months

Friday 15th October 2010
quotequote all

GravelBen

15,913 posts

237 months

Friday 15th October 2010
quotequote all
Aids.

thinfourth2

32,414 posts

211 months

Friday 15th October 2010
quotequote all
Iceland delivery?

brings a whole new meaning to "mums gone to iceland"

pacman1

Original Poster:

7,323 posts

200 months

Friday 15th October 2010
quotequote all
GravelBen said:
Aids.
Bit over the top for that I'd have thought.
I thought you only used something like liquid nitrogen for liquifying other gases, ie air maybe, or perhaps stopping another liquid from evapourating.
So whatever it is, its being stopped from mixing with the atmosphere, and if its a gas, then it must have been captured in the first place somehow. But where from?

Edited by pacman1 on Friday 15th October 12:51

mp3manager

4,254 posts

203 months

Friday 15th October 2010
quotequote all
2X is the Emergency Action Code, which tells the fire service what to use. 2 = fine spray & X = liquid tight chemical suit with breathing apparatus.

3291 is the UN number and is medical waste.

So that load would be Class 6.2 - Infectious Substance and probably Packing Group I.

What exactly it is and why it's carried that way...I have no idea. confused

Edited by mp3manager on Friday 15th October 12:54

Omnicynical

3 posts

169 months

Friday 15th October 2010
quotequote all
pacman1 said:
Spotted early hours Wednesday, moving through Gloucester.
Plate code 2X 3291. Google says it's clinical waste, but the plates were on a large tanker, so it got me intrigued.
Initially I wondered whether this lorry was going between hospitals, picking up low grade liquid waste of some sort. Seemed a bit strange to me, so on further investigation via my friend Google, I found this.
Turns out to be bio-medical waste being transported in liquid nitrogen - hence the tanker.
So, being a nosey git, I wondered if any PHer's could shed some light on this, since it seems a bit extreme.
What sort of medical waste needs to be transported in liquid nitrogen??
Almost certainly not in liquid-nitrogen; it's an option offered by the ADR, but not one I've ever seen in use in the UK.

SVTRick

3,633 posts

202 months

Friday 15th October 2010
quotequote all
And just to be sure


In case of Spillage - RUN.....................

Omnicynical

3 posts

169 months

Saturday 16th October 2010
quotequote all
mp3manager said:
2X is the Emergency Action Code, which tells the fire service what to use. 2 = fine spray & X = liquid tight chemical suit with breathing apparatus.

3291 is the UN number and is medical waste.

So that load would be Class 6.2 - Infectious Substance and probably Packing Group I.

What exactly it is and why it's carried that way...I have no idea. confused

Edited by mp3manager on Friday 15th October 12:54
UN3291 is Clinical Waste n.o.s., which in both its possible flavours is PGII; Packing Group I is not an option for Clinical Waste.

Edited by Omnicynical on Saturday 16th October 00:31

j4ckos mate

3,158 posts

177 months

Saturday 16th October 2010
quotequote all
didnt know you had pacing groups for road, thought it was just air bods like me,

lithium batteries are going to be the ones to keep an eye on in the future

Omnicynical

3 posts

169 months

Saturday 16th October 2010
quotequote all
j4ckos mate said:
didnt know you had pacing groups for road, thought it was just air bods like me,

lithium batteries are going to be the ones to keep an eye on in the future
The Air (ICAO/IATA), Road (ADR) and Sea (IMDG) all have the same common source - the UN Orange Book, so all share things like UN number, packing groups etc.

Totally agree about Lithium batteries; not only for air either, these are turning into a nightmare for all of us. Next time anyone buys a cheap lithium replacement for their laptop or other device, just think on how they have made them so cheap.

Nickyboy

6,704 posts

241 months

Saturday 16th October 2010
quotequote all
Omnicynical said:
j4ckos mate said:
didnt know you had pacing groups for road, thought it was just air bods like me,

lithium batteries are going to be the ones to keep an eye on in the future
Totally agree about Lithium batteries; not only for air either, these are turning into a nightmare for all of us. Next time anyone buys a cheap lithium replacement for their laptop or other device, just think on how they have made them so cheap.
Yup, was this that almost certainly caused the UPS plane to go down in Dubai a few weeks back

lil_munnisop

1 posts

72 months

Wednesday 21st November 2018
quotequote all
pacman1 said:
Spotted early hours Wednesday, moving through Gloucester.
Plate code 2X 3291. Google says it's clinical waste, but the plates were on a large tanker, so it got me intrigued.
Initially I wondered whether this lorry was going between hospitals, picking up low grade liquid waste of some sort. Seemed a bit strange to me, so on further investigation via my friend Google, I found this.
Turns out to be bio-medical waste being transported in liquid nitrogen - hence the tanker.
So, being a nosey git, I wondered if any PHer's could shed some light on this, since it seems a bit extreme.
What sort of medical waste needs to be transported in liquid nitrogen??
Yes, I saw this in Colchester, Essex and I can confirm it is indeed in use for medical waste.