In a recent issue there was an article titled “Fertilizer prices climb sky high alongside commodity prices.” The article content may be good but I haven’t read it yet.
I got stopped at the DANGEROUS photo of the anhydrous ammonia tanks that you purchased from Getty Images. This image sends all the wrong messages to farmers and fertilizer dealers in Canada. Canadian regulations for the maintenance, testing and inspection of anhydrous ammonia tanks is vastly different than in the U.S. where this image was most likely shot. Here are some details that immediately caught my eye of what is wrong or missing in this image.
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- Towing one tank behind the other in tandem as displayed in this photo is extremely hazardous and is illegal in Canada regardless of whether they are full or empty.
- There are no testing and inspection markings on the tank to indicate that it has had the required annual visual external inspection, the annual leakage test or the periodic hydrostatic pressure test required to ensure tank integrity.
- There are no TDG placards showing.
- There is no indication of the owner of the tank, the Emergency Response number etc.
- There are no reference decals for First Aid and Safety Procedures.
- There are no connection and disconnection procedural decals for reference by the user of the tank.
The anhydrous ammonia fertilizer distribution and retail network is very stringently controlled by a multitude of government and industry regulations. For example, Transport Canada and the Transportation of Dangerous Goods regulations reference the Canadian Standards Association B-620 and B-622 standards which cover in detail, the manufacturing, repair, testing, inspection, selection and use requirements of tankage for road transportation of dangerous goods. These CSA standards include nurse tanks used on farms to apply anhydrous ammonia in the field. There are also fertilizer industry standards through Fertilizer Canada that fertilizer retailers must follow that also apply to nurse tanks. And there are regulations from the provinces that also come into force.
Showing an image such as this one, does not reinforce the critical need for safety and for a comprehensive testing and inspection program. These are required to keep everyone safe whether it be a soccer parent driving their children down the road or the farmer applying ammonia in the field.
Glenn Dickson is a professional agronomist, a technical committee member on advisory panels for storage and transport of dangerous goods and an anhydrous ammonia consultant.
