Inspections of hazardous material in Abu Dhabi facilities complete

Abu Dhabi / WAM

The implementation team of the Hazardous Materials Monitoring Programme in Abu Dhabi has completed the inventory and classification of hazardous materials. They have checked the preventive and safety measures in the stores selling hazardous materials and taken appropriate corrective measures.
The team was led by Brigadier Humaid Saeed Alefreet, Deputy Director of Security and Ports Affairs Sector at the General Command of Abu Dhabi Police, with the representatives of all concerned authorities in the emirate. It included more than 70 technicians and administrators representing ten entities.
This technical work team was formed within the Abu Dhabi Hazardous Materials Management Team (AD-HMMT).
The move was part of Abu Dhabi government’s endeavour to impose strict control on hazardous materials and to provide the highest degree of protection for society and environment.
Alefreet, who is also the Head of the Implementation Team of AD-HMMT, said the team carried out field operations that lasted for three months during the pandemic, and ensured the safety procedures were followed on storing hazardous materials in warehouses and other locations licensed by concerned authorities.
The team, he said, emphasised the need for facilities to adhere to the required requirements and the competence of workers in this sector. Some violations have been detected and the necessary corrective measures have been taken by the
establishments directly.
He highlighted the importance of managing hazardous materials effectively during their life cycle. This can be achieved by monitoring all dealers of these materials and checking and ensuring the extent of their compliance with health, prevention and public safety requirements. The compliance is when practicing any activity related to the handling of hazardous materials, including their use, transport and storage.
Shaikha Al Hosani, Executive Director of the Environmental Quality Sector at the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD), reviewed the main and supportive role that the agency has played in the field. EAD has worked hard to monitor hazardous materials and facilitate follow-up and control procedures for field operations by recording the hazardous materials that have been monitored by all concerned government agencies in the Integrated Hazardous Materials Management System (IHMMS).
Mohamad Munif Al Mansoori, Executive Director of Industrial Development Bureau, said that the Bureau has recently issued the necessary circulars, which oblige the concerned industrial facilities to use the Integrated Hazardous Materials Management System, which is cornerstone of tracking the movement of hazardous materials in the economic sector.
For his part, Dr Mohamed Salman Al Hammadi, the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority Spokesperson, said that the relevant work teams at the authority, who work within the Implementation Team of the Hazardous Materials Monitoring Programme in Abu Dhabi, will register the facilities operating in the field of handling agricultural pesticides and chemical fertilisers within the Integrated Hazardous Materials Management System.
Furthermore, the authority will work on intensifying field visits to these facilities with the aim of verifying data recorded in the system of the hazardous materials handled in the facilities.
Abdulmohsin Mubarak Alkatheeri, Acting Projects & Facilities Department Director from Abu Dhabi Waste Management Centre, said, ” At Tadweer, we ensure that these materials are managed in accordance with the best international practices followed in this regard, starting from the stage of use and transportation of hazardous materials, passing through proper storage mechanisms, and ending with their safe disposal. Moreover, we review the capabilities of workers in this field and determine their readiness to deal with these materials and assess the risks and negative impacts that may result from them.”