Praising the work already done to unify safety standards for commercial transport, as well to establish regulations for the cleanup of hazardous spills and leaks,
Aware that inconsistent requirements for the labeling of hazardous material creates legal, technical, and practical obstacles to free trade,
Concerned that the current lack of regulation allows for inadequate markings, markings which vary by nation or even province, and markings which are not internationally understandable,
Conscious that confusion regarding hazardous goods increases the danger and likelihood of an accident during transportation,
Troubled by accidental spills impact on free trade through the full or partial closure of roadways, ports, and other trade routes,
Noting that when accidents occur involving hazardous materials, first responders' optimal actions depend on the precise nature of the hazardous good, particularly with regards to flammability, reactivity, and toxicity, and that improper actions of first responders can increase damage to trade infrastructure, and puts the lives of those in the vicinity of the accident at risk,
Hereby,
Entrusts the International Transport Safety Committee (ITSC) with creating a labeling system to communicate the important risks and dangers of materials in a manner that is both noticeable and as universally recognizable as possible;
Further entrusts the ITSC to establish vessel specific standards as to the optimal size, number, and placement of warning symbols;
Charges the ITSC with the responsibility of periodically reviewing the labeling system for modernization or other improvements, while balancing the benefits of consistency;
Mandates nations adhere to the ITSC's standards when transporting hazardous materials across international borders, except where compliance interferes with national security;
Empowers the ITSC to levy punitive measures on responsible organizations or government bodies for non-compliance, including mandatory training or fines (the proceeds of which shall go to the WA General Fund);
Urges vessels also adhere to the ITSC labeling guidelines for the transportation of hazardous materials in non-mandated situations;
Requires ITSC disseminated training materials be given to relevant professionals and other interested parties;
Suggests the display of ITSC labels in areas used for the long term storage of hazardous goods.
Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 11:18 pm
by Kenmoria
"In the noting clause, “Responders” should have an apostrophe after it."
Praising the work the assembly has already done to unify safety standards for roads and other forms of commercial transportation, as well to establish regulations for the cleanup of hazardous spills and leaks,
Aware of the negative impact that the accidental spilling of hazardous materials continues to have on free trade through the full or partial closure of roadways, ports, and other trade routes in response to spills,
Convinced more can be done to decrease spills' likelihood and impact,
Noting that when accidents occur involving hazardous materials, first responders' optimal actions are shaped by the precise nature of the hazardous good, particularly with regards to the flammability, reactivity, toxicity, and other considerations,
Concerned that when an accident occurs during the transportation of a hazardous good, any confusion in the good's nature, even one lasting a short period of time, could decrease the effectiveness of response, causing enhanced damage to the impact trade routes. as well as putting the lives of those in the vicinity of the accident at risk and increasing the difficulty of containment of the accident,
Aware that confusion or lack of knowledge of hazards goods' risks increases the danger and likelihood of an accident during the transportation process,
Dissatisfied with current lack of regulation, which allows for inadequate marking, markings which vary by nation or even region, and markings which are not internationally understandable,
Hereby,
Entrusts the International Transport Safety Committee (ITSC) with the responsibility of creating a labeling system using only pictograms and other symbols and colors that are as internationally recognizable as possible to communicate a material's level of danger, particularly with regards to flammability, reactivity, toxicity, and other factors considered to be of high importance;
Further entrusts the ITSC to establish transportation vessel specific standards as to the optimal size, number, and placement of warning symbols;
Charges the ITSC with the responsibility of periodically reviewing the aforementioned labeling system and standards for modernization or other improvements;
Mandates adherence to the ITSC's guidelines when transportation vessels are used by a member state to export goods internationally for trade purpose not related to national security;
Recommends member states provide ITSC disseminated training materials to relevant professionals and other interested parties;
Urges vessels also adhere to the ITSC labeling guidelines for the transportation hazardous materials in non-mandated situations, when practical;
Suggests the display of ITSC recommended labels in areas used for the long term storage of hazardous goods.
Title: Uniform Labeling of Hazardous Goods Category: Environmental AOI: All Industries - Mild
The World Assembly,
Praising the work the assembly has already done to unify safety standards for roads and other forms of commercial transportation, as well to establish regulations for the cleanup of hazardous spills and leaks,
Convinced, however, more can be done to decrease spills' likelihood and impact,
Noting that when accidents occur involving hazardous materials, first responders' optimal actions are shaped by the precise nature of the hazardous good, particularly with regards to the flammability, reactivity, toxicity, and other considerations,
Concerned that when an accident occurs during the transportation of a hazardous good, any confusion in the good's nature, even one lasting a short period of time, could put the lives of those in the vicinity of the accident at risk, as well as greatly increasing the difficulty of environmental containment and expense of the accident,
Aware that confusion or lack of knowledge of hazards goods' risks increases the danger and likelihood of an accident during the transportation process,
Dissatisfied with current lack of regulation, which allows for inadequate marking, markings which vary by nation or even region, and markings which are not internationally understandable,
Hereby, entrusts the International Transport Safety Committee (ITSC) with the responsibility of creating a labeling system using only pictograms and other symbols and colors that are as internationally recognizable as possible to communicate a material's level of danger, particularly with regards to flammability, reactivity, toxicity, and other factors considered to be of high importance;
Further entrusts the ITSC to establish transportation vessel specific standards as to the optimal size, number, and placement of warning symbols;
Charges the ITSC with the responsibility of periodically reviewing the aforementioned labeling system and standards for modernization or other improvements;
Mandates adherence to the ITSC's guidelines when transportation vessels are used by a member state to export goods internationally for trade purpose not related to national security;
Recommends member states provide ITSC disseminated training materials to relevant professionals and other interested parties;
Urges vessels also adhere to the ITSC labeling guidelines for the transportation hazardous materials in non-mandated situations, when practical;
Suggests the display of ITSC recommended labels in areas used for the long term storage of hazardous goods.
Praising the work the assembly has already done on unifying safety standards for roads and other forms of commercial transportation, as well as mitigating the impact of hazardous spills and leaks,
Noting that when accidents occur involving the spilling of a hazardous goods, first responders' actions are necessarily shaped by the precise nature of the hazardous good, particularly with regards to the flammability, reactivity, toxicity, and other considerations,
Concerned that when an accident occurs during the transportation of a hazardous good, any confusion in the good's nature, even one lasting a short period of time, could put the lives of those involved in the accident, those in the vicinity of the accident, and the first responders at risk, as well as greatly increasing the expense of the accident,
Aware that confusion or lack of knowledge of the hazards goods pose can also increase the danger and likelihood of an accident during the transportation process,
Disatisfied with current lack of regulation, which causes the potential for confusion due to inadequate marking, markings which vary by nation or even region, and markings which are not internationally understanable,
Hereby, entrusts the International Transport Safety Committee (ITSC) with the responsibility of creating a labeling system that uses only pictograms and other symbols and colors that are as internationally recognizable as possible to communicate the level of danger a good poses, particularly with regards to flammability, reactivity, toxicity, and other factors it considers to be of high importance;
Further entrusts the ITSC to establish transportation vessel specific standards as to the optimal size, number, and placement of warning symbols;
Mandates the transportation vessels used by all member states adhere to the guidelines of the ITSC when used to export goods internationally for trade purposes;
Recommends member states provide ITSC disseminated training materials on the hazardous good labeling system to relevant professionals and other interested parties;
Recommends vessels also adhere to the ITSC labeling guidelines for the transportation hazardous goods domestically.
Posted: Tue May 15, 2018 7:15 pm
by Aclion
Could you provide ITSC with a mandate to monitor the use of these labels and update them periodically in the event that they take on new meanings that comprise their use as a warning symbol? IE: the Skull and Crossbones meaning shifting from "Danger here; maybe buried mines" to "Danger here; or maybe buried pirate treasure"
Other then that; no input because I see nothing to improve.
Posted: Tue May 15, 2018 10:24 pm
by Frisbeeteria
Sorry, can't help myself ...
Left to right: Flammable, Irritant, Toxic Gases, Explosive Performing "Goodnight Sweetheart, It's Time To Die"
Posted: Wed May 16, 2018 4:48 am
by Separatist Peoples
OOC: I question the category. Nothing in this draft seeks to remove barriers to free trade. In fact, it raises them. I know previous incarnations of international transportation safety have fallen under this umbrella, but they focused on standards to facilitate trade by giving compliant craft access to WA air and nautical space. This doesn't.
You could rewrite it to fit into Environmental. Or Health. But Free Trade isn't an ideal fit. Not until there is a shiny new category for this sort of thing.
Posted: Wed May 16, 2018 8:25 am
by Kenmoria
"In the “Dissatisfied” clause, the last “marking” should be a “markings” as it should be plural."
Posted: Wed May 16, 2018 8:34 am
by Ransium
Separatist Peoples wrote:OOC: I question the category. Nothing in this draft seeks to remove barriers to free trade. In fact, it raises them. I know previous incarnations of international transportation safety have fallen under this umbrella, but they focused on standards to facilitate trade by giving compliant craft access to WA air and nautical space. This doesn't.
You could rewrite it to fit into Environmental. Or Health. But Free Trade isn't an ideal fit. Not until there is a shiny new category for this sort of thing.
I was worried about the category. None of the categories in health are cozy fits either. I was really hoping to break out from my wheel house and not write environmental legislation, but it is the most obvious category to write the preamble for. I'll shoot for a rewrite for environmental - mild this weekend.
Kenmoria thanks for another careful read.
Fris - the title is a bit cheesy, I'm thinking of changing it to "Uniform Labeling of Hazardous Goods".
Posted: Wed May 16, 2018 8:47 am
by Aclion
You could touch on the fact that inconsistent standards are a barrier to international trade. I accepted the category without it because I thought that this was understood.
Posted: Wed May 16, 2018 7:33 pm
by Ransium
I've made alterations to fit the category "Environmental - All Industries - Mild", as well as a number of edits to increase brevity and readability (and probably a typo or two). I think no matter what arguments are made in the preamble free trade was always going to be an awkward fit for something putting mandate are trade goods, even if the ultimate impact was to increase ease of trade.
Posted: Thu May 17, 2018 1:56 pm
by Kenmoria
"In the “Aware” clause, “increase” should be “increases” as lack of knowledge is a singular noun."
Posted: Thu May 17, 2018 2:23 pm
by Ransium
Kenmoria wrote:"In the “Aware” clause, “increase” should be “increases” as lack of knowledge is a singular noun."
Fixed thanks.
Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 3:32 am
by Kenmoria
"People normally put the “Hereby” on its own line, rather than putting it in with an active clause."
Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 9:19 am
by Bears Armed
Aclion wrote:You could touch on the fact that inconsistent standards are a barrier to international trade. I accepted the category without it because I thought that this was understood.
OOC: I'd accept that approach.
Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 4:35 pm
by Ransium
Here is my attempt at a preamble that highlights the arguments for the category "Free Trade - Mild". Let me know what you think of the draft and if it cuts muster (and if not what changes should be made). I've left the "Environmental - All Industries - Mild" draft two posts down if that turns out to be the better way of doing things.
Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 5:39 pm
by Aclion
I'd focus more on the effects of the differing label requirements themselves rather than a niche effect, something like;
Aware that the lack of an international standard in the labeling of hazardous goods acts as both a technical and legal barrier to international trade.
Then add the safety and environmental concerns on to that.
Posted: Sun May 20, 2018 12:59 am
by Kenmoria
"I would make the “recommends” clause at least partly mandatory, as having internationally recognised symbols is no good if nobody can recognise them."
Posted: Sun May 20, 2018 4:55 pm
by New Keam
"The writing can be cleaned up here.
Entrusts the International Transport Safety Committee (ITSC) with the responsibility of creating a labeling system using only pictograms and other symbols and colors that are as internationally recognizable as possible to communicate a material's level of danger, particularly with regards to flammability, reactivity, toxicity, and other factors considered to be of high importance;
Can be cleaned to say:
Entrusts International Transport Safety Committee (ITSC) with the responsibility of creating a labeling system using only pictograms, symbols and colors that are internationally recognizable to communicate and material's level of danger, particular in regards to the kind of danger and other factors considered to be important.
Furthermore:
Mandates adherence to the ITSC's guidelines when transportation vessels are used by a member state to export goods internationally for trade purpose not related to national security;
Can be cleaned to say:
Mandates adherence to the ITSC's guidelines when hazardous materials are transported across international lines if the reasons for that transportation is not related to national security;
In my opinion, the entire proposal needs some wordsmithing"
Posted: Sun May 20, 2018 5:56 pm
by Separatist Peoples
New Keam wrote:"The writing can be cleaned up here.
Entrusts the International Transport Safety Committee (ITSC) with the responsibility of creating a labeling system using only pictograms and other symbols and colors that are as internationally recognizable as possible to communicate a material's level of danger, particularly with regards to flammability, reactivity, toxicity, and other factors considered to be of high importance;
Can be cleaned to say:
Entrusts International Transport Safety Committee (ITSC) with the responsibility of creating a labeling system using only pictograms, symbols and colors that are internationally recognizable to communicate and material's level of danger, particular in regards to the kind of danger and other factors considered to be important.
"Your cleaning could be cleaned up."
Entrusts the International Transport Safety Committee (ITSC) with creating an internationally-recognizable pictographic labeling system to communicate the material's imprtant risks and dangers.
Mandates adherence to the ITSC's guidelines when hazardous materials are transported across international lines if the reasons for that transportation is not related to national security;
"Nations must adhere to the ITSC's guidelines when transporting hazardous materials across international lines, except where compliance interferes with national security.
In my opinion, the entire proposal needs some wordsmithing"
"You need a bit of wordsmithing practice, honestly."
New Keam wrote:"The writing can be cleaned up here.
Entrusts the International Transport Safety Committee (ITSC) with the responsibility of creating a labeling system using only pictograms and other symbols and colors that are as internationally recognizable as possible to communicate a material's level of danger, particularly with regards to flammability, reactivity, toxicity, and other factors considered to be of high importance;
Can be cleaned to say:
Entrusts International Transport Safety Committee (ITSC) with the responsibility of creating a labeling system using only pictograms, symbols and colors that are internationally recognizable to communicate and material's level of danger, particular in regards to the kind of danger and other factors considered to be important.
"Your cleaning could be cleaned up."
Entrusts the International Transport Safety Committee (ITSC) with creating an internationally-recognizable pictographic labeling system to communicate the material's imprtant risks and dangers.
Mandates adherence to the ITSC's guidelines when hazardous materials are transported across international lines if the reasons for that transportation is not related to national security;
"Nations must adhere to the ITSC's guidelines when transporting hazardous materials across international lines, except where compliance interferes with national security.
In my opinion, the entire proposal needs some wordsmithing"
"You need a bit of wordsmithing practice, honestly."
"I am well aware. I am however attempting to get the ball rolling to improve a piece of legislation, and getting the ball to move in the right direction."
Posted: Wed May 23, 2018 10:59 am
by Kenmoria
"In the “Concerned” clause, “Impact” should be “Impacted”."
Posted: Wed May 23, 2018 9:19 pm
by Ransium
I've word smithed the clauses as suggested, and made several tweeks to the preamble, both along Aciion's suggestion and for greater brevity and more organized thinking. I've tweaked the sentenced that Kenmoria was concerned with so that it no longer needs the suggested edit. Further flow, wordsmithing, rhetorical, or grammatical suggestions are all welcome.
Posted: Thu May 24, 2018 9:02 pm
by Whovian Tardisia
"We've noticed that this doesn't reference domestic transport. While we assume this is intentional to avoid arguments along the lines of 'muh sovereignty', it is concerning that despite the fact the goal is to reduce confusion, not allowing member states input on the design of the international symbols could lead to more confusion if they differ from similar systems in domestic use too much. We attempted to address a similar issue in one of our own proposals by allowing member states to determine what labels are necessary and to simply follow an international standard format within their borders. We could provide you a copy if you'd like to view it in detail."
Posted: Mon May 28, 2018 8:32 am
by Ransium
Whovian Tardisia wrote:"We've noticed that this doesn't reference domestic transport. While we assume this is intentional to avoid arguments along the lines of 'muh sovereignty', it is concerning that despite the fact the goal is to reduce confusion, not allowing member states input on the design of the international symbols could lead to more confusion if they differ from similar systems in domestic use too much. We attempted to address a similar issue in one of our own proposals by allowing member states to determine what labels are necessary and to simply follow an international standard format within their borders. We could provide you a copy if you'd like to view it in detail."
"Actually, it is indirectly addressed here:
Urges vessels also adhere to the ITSC labeling guidelines for the transportation hazardous materials in non-mandated situations, when practical;
I feel this line addresses your concern. One of the two main 'non-mandate situations' would be trade within borders. This clause therefore urges nations to follow the international labeling standards, but It also allows nations to have their precious sovereignty, if they want. If nations really want to keep two labeling systems it's my opinion that you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink."
Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 9:39 pm