Netherlands’ Publicatiereeks Gevaarlijke Stoffen (PGS, tr. Hazardous Substances Publication Series) has drafted a national safety guideline covering safe procedures for CNG and LNG vehicles (PGS 26). The document is formulated according to ‘Nieuwe Stijl’ (tr. New Style) guidelines which convert existing PGS publications into a format consistent with the Netherland’s 2018 Environmental Act. All interested parties can view the concept and send any comments to the PGS project office.
In PGS 26, goals and measures are described for the commercial storage, maintenance and repair of motor vehicles equipped with a CNG and / or LNG installation. This also includes vehicles that do not participate in road traffic, such as forklift trucks and tractors.
Changes from the previous version include expansion of the guideline to include storage, and the adoption of the new style of risk assessment, whereby the PGS team adopts a systematic approach which starts with an inventory and assessment of the risks. The team then sets the goals and associated measures in response to the risks that have been identified.
Further information and instructions for submitting comments is available here: PGS 26 Press Release
Responses should be submitted no later than 21 February to: pgs@publicatiereeksgevaarlijkestoffen.nl.
Parallel Development at CEN
The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) is also working on the same documents for operations of CNG & LNG vehicles, under CEN/TC 326. The scope defined for TC 326 is: “The work covers the design, construction, operation, inspection, safety and maintenance of fueling stations and facilities for natural gas vehicles (NGV’s). It includes natural gas and biomethane in compressed (CNG) or liquefied (LNG) form and covers the operational aspects of NGV’s during their life cycle. The resulting standards will address the minimal safety requirements.”
NGVA Europe commented on TC 326 in its December newsletter:
“The EN ISO standards for CNG & LNG fillings stations (EN ISO 16923 & EN ISO 16924) have successfully passed voting in the ballot for CEN TC 326 working group, responsible for the development of standards for natural gas vehicles. This means that in the beginning of 2018 interoperability is standardized, both for CNG & LNG vehicles. Interoperability will be then addressed in the mandate M/533 for the standardization of alternative fuels infrastructure. This comes at a perfect moment with the launch of 3 new CNG/LNG engine lines for heavy-duty vehicles with more than 300 kW in this fall strengthening the current heavy duty NGVs.”
Sources: PGS, CEN, NGVA Europe
