Explosives Regulations, 2013 (SOR/2013-211)

Safety of Workers and Visitors

Marginal note:Responsibilities of licence holder

75 A holder of a division 1 factory licence must ensure that the worker and visitor safety requirements set out in sections 76 to 79 are met at the factory and, if they also hold a satellite site certificate, at each satellite site.

Marginal note:Access

• 76 (1) Only people authorized by the holder of a division 1 factory licence may have access to the factory or a satellite site.

• Marginal note:Orientation sessions

  (2) A visitor may be authorized to enter the factory or a satellite site only if they have attended an orientation session on visitor safety within the 12 months before the date on which they enter. If any of the safety procedures have changed since their last orientation session, they must attend a new session before their entry is authorized.

• Marginal note:Visitors — general public

  (3) A visitor may be authorized to enter any part of the factory or a satellite site if they are at least 17 years old and remain under the supervision of a competent person.

Marginal note:Lists of personal protective equipment

• 77 (1) Up-to-date lists of the personal protective equipment, clothing and devices that are needed to protect workers and visitors from the hazards to which they could be exposed while at the factory or a satellite site must be maintained and must be made available to all workers and visitors.

• Marginal note:Personal protective equipment

  (2) Every worker and visitor must be required to wear the personal protective equipment, clothing and devices that are needed to protect them.

• Marginal note:Hair, clothing and accessories

  (3) Every worker and visitor must be required to confine or cover any loose hair and confine, cover or remove any loose clothing, jewellery or other accessories if the hair, clothing or accessories could increase the likelihood of an ignition or the likelihood of harm to the worker or visitor.

• Marginal note:Electronic devices

  (4) Every worker and visitor must be required to deactivate any electronic device in their possession (for example, a cellphone or two-way radio) in any part of the factory or a satellite site where the device, if activated, could increase the likelihood of an ignition.

Marginal note:Performance-diminishing substance

78 A worker or visitor must not be authorized to enter the factory or a satellite site if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they are under the influence of or carrying alcohol or another performance-diminishing substance. However, a worker or visitor who has taken a prescription drug may be permitted to enter if they have medical proof that the drug is needed and that it will not impede their ability to carry out their functions or to visit safely.

Marginal note:No smoking

• 79 (1) Smoking must be prohibited at the factory and any satellite site.

• Marginal note:No fire-producing devices

  (2) Fire-producing devices (for example, matches and lighters) must not be permitted in the factory or any satellite site unless they are authorized by the division 1 factory licence or satellite site certificate.

Training

Marginal note:Responsibilities of licence holder

80 A holder of a division 1 factory licence must ensure that the training requirements for workers set out in sections 81 to 84 are met at the factory and, if they also hold a satellite site certificate, at each satellite site.

Marginal note:Employees’ qualifications

81 Every employee at a factory or satellite site must be required to meet the following requirements:

• (a) they must be a competent person; or

• (b) they must be at least 18 years old, participating in the training program referred to in section 82 and under the direct supervision of a competent person.

Marginal note:Training program

• 82 (1) Every employee must be trained to carry out their duties at the factory or a satellite site in a safe and lawful manner. The training must be given by a competent person.

• Marginal note:Contents of training

  (2) The training must include all information necessary to ensure the security of the factory or satellite site and the safety of the employee, other people at the factory or site and the general public. It must also include a review of the Explosives Act, these Regulations and the division 1 factory licence or satellite site certificate.

Marginal note:Certification

• 83 (1) A holder of a division 1 factory licence must certify as trained any employee who is at least 18 years old if

  • (a) the employee has completed the training referred to in section 82; or

  • (b) the holder has reasonable grounds to believe that the employee understands the hazards to which they could be exposed at the factory or satellite site and is competent to carry out their duties in a manner that is safe, lawful and ensures the security of the site.

• Marginal note:Form and contents

  (2) Evidence of an employee’s certification may be either a training record or a document signed by the person who provided the training or, in the case provided for in paragraph (1)(b), by the holder of the division 1 factory licence. It must be given to the employee and record the employee’s name, the operating procedures the employee is competent to carry out and the date on which the certification will expire.

• Marginal note:Expiry

  (3) An employee’s training certification must expire not more than five years after the date of the certification. If a change occurs in the operating procedures for which the employee was certified, the employee must be trained in the new operating procedures but the expiry date of the certification must remain the same.

• Marginal note:Records

  (4) A training record and a record of work experience must be made and kept up to date for each employee at the factory or satellite site where they perform their duties. These records must be kept for two years after the date on which the employee’s certification expires.

Marginal note:Training and supervision

84 Every worker at a factory or satellite site who is not an employee must

• (a) be trained to carry out their work in a manner that is safe and lawful and ensures the security of the factory or satellite site; and

• (b) remain under the supervision of a competent person while at the factory or satellite site, unless the holder of the division 1 factory licence has reasonable grounds to believe that the worker understands the hazards to which the worker could be exposed and is competent to carry out their duties in a manner that is safe, lawful and ensures the security of the factory or site.

Operation of the Factory or Satellite Site

Marginal note:Responsibilities of licence holder

85 A holder of a division 1 factory licence must ensure that the operational requirements set out in sections 86 to 91 are met at the factory and, if they also hold a satellite site certificate, at each satellite site.

Marginal note:Operating procedures

• 86 (1) Operating procedures, including procedures to minimize the likelihood of an accidental ignition, must be put in place for every manufacturing operation.

• Marginal note:Update of procedures

  (2) The operating procedures must be kept up to date and reviewed annually. If a manufacturing operation is to be changed, the procedures for carrying out that operation must be reviewed and modified as needed before the change is implemented.

Marginal note:Management of change

• 87 (1) Before any temporary or permanent technological or organizational change to manufacturing operations is implemented, an evaluation of the risk that the change could increase the likelihood of an ignition or a security incident must be carried out and a management of change procedure must be put in place for each change that could increase the likelihood of an ignition or a security incident.

• Marginal note:Approval of change

  (2) Each change must be approved by the holder of the division 1 factory licence before it is made.

• Marginal note:Record

  (3) A record of each change must be kept for two years after the date on which the change is made.

Marginal note:Security plan

• 88 (1) If a security plan was included in the application for a division 1 factory licence or a satellite site certificate, it must be implemented and a copy of the plan must be kept at the factory or satellite site.

• Marginal note:Change of circumstance

  (2) The security plan must be updated to reflect any change in circumstances that could adversely affect the security of the factory or satellite site. A copy of the updated plan must be kept at the factory and satellite site and another copy must be sent to the Chief Inspector of Explosives as soon as the circumstances permit.

• Marginal note:Copy

  (3) A copy of the most recent version of the plan must be made available to the people who are responsible for implementing it.

Marginal note:Audits

• 89 (1) All operating procedures must be routinely audited. Every audit must include the following verifications:

  • (a) whether facilities and equipment are being operated and maintained in a manner that ensures the security of the factory or satellite site and minimizes the likelihood of harm to people and property; and

  • (b) whether these Regulations and the terms and conditions of the division 1 factory licence and any satellite site certificate are being complied with.

• Marginal note:Corrections

  (2) Any deficiency found during an audit must be corrected as soon as the circumstances permit.

• Marginal note:Record

  (3) A record of each audit must be made and the record must include a copy of the action plan to correct any deficiencies found and set out the corrections made. It must be kept for two years after the date on which the audit is conducted.

• Marginal note:Audit procedure

  (4) A procedure must be put in place to ensure that the audits are conducted in a complete and timely manner.

Marginal note:Records

• 90 (1) A record of each explosive in the factory or at a satellite site (including any explosive that is used as raw material) must be kept for two years after the date on which the record is made. It must set out, for each explosive,

  • (a) the product name, UN number and a short description of the explosive;

  • (b) if the explosive was acquired, the quantity acquired and the date of acquisition;

  • (c) if the explosive was used to manufacture another explosive, the quantity used and the date of use;

  • (c.1) if the manufactured explosive referred to in paragraph (c) was used at the factory or a satellite site or client site, the quantity used and the date of use;

  • (d) if the explosive was manufactured at the factory or a satellite site, the quantity manufactured and the date of manufacture;

  • (e) if the explosive was stored, the quantity stored, the magazine in which it was stored and the dates on which it was placed in and removed from the magazine;

  • (f) if the explosive was shipped from the factory or a satellite site, the quantity shipped, the date of shipment and the name and address of the person to whom it was shipped; and

  • (g) if the explosive was destroyed at the factory, the quantity destroyed and the date of destruction.

• Marginal note:Inventory control systems

  (2) Any system used for inventory control or tracking of an explosive must not increase the likelihood of an ignition.

Marginal note:Copy — licence and certificates

• 91 (1) A copy of the division 1 factory licence and all documents referred to in the licence must be kept at the factory. A copy of the satellite site certificate and all documents referred to in the certificate must be kept at each satellite site.

• Marginal note:Copy — this Division

  (2) A copy of this Division must be made available to workers at the factory and each satellite site.

• Marginal note:Copy — operating procedures

  (3) A copy of the operating procedures for each process unit, factory magazine and transport unit must be kept in the unit or magazine to which they relate and must be made available to the workers.

Mobile Process Units

Marginal note:Responsibilities of licence holder

92 A holder of a division 1 factory licence must ensure that the mobile process unit requirements set out in sections 93 to 100 are met at the factory and, if they also hold a satellite site certificate, at each satellite site.

Marginal note:Structural requirements

• 93 (1) Every mobile process unit must be designed and constructed to conform to good engineering practices. It must be constructed in a manner that prevents the accumulation of explosives or raw material in cracks and cavities and that minimizes the harm to people and property that could result from an ignition of the explosives or raw material. The construction materials must be compatible with the explosives to be manufactured and transported and with the raw material to be used.

• Marginal note:Means of escape

  (2) Every mobile process unit must have a means of escape that will permit all people in the unit to leave it quickly and easily in an emergency.

• Marginal note:Equipment

  (3) All tools, equipment, hoses and hydraulic systems in or on a mobile process unit must be designed, constructed and installed to conform to good engineering practices.

• Marginal note:Compatibility

  (4) Every thing that is in or on a mobile process unit must be made from materials that are compatible with the explosives and raw material with which they could come into contact during manufacturing operations.

• Marginal note:Control of safety-critical parameters

  (5) All equipment designed to control safety-critical parameters on pumps, and on other process equipment that puts energy into explosives, must be installed and maintained in good condition so that the equipment operates while the pumps and process equipment are in use.

Marginal note:Foreign matter

• 94 (1) If the likelihood of an ignition could be increased as a result of foreign matter (for example, bolts, gravel or grit) being present in or mixed with any raw material, or explosive used as raw material, the material must be carefully examined and passed through a sieve or treated to remove or exclude the foreign matter before manufacturing operations begin.

• Marginal note:Loading and unloading

  (2) Explosives and raw material must not be loaded into or unloaded from a mobile process unit except at the factory or a satellite site or at a client site specified in the division 1 factory licence or satellite site certificate. However, in the case of a mechanical breakdown, unloading may be carried out at the location of the breakdown if the Minister is notified of the breakdown and determines that precautions that minimize the likelihood of ignition have been taken.

• Marginal note:Loaded units to be attended

  (3) A mobile process unit that contains explosives must be attended in person except when it is at the factory or a satellite site or when it is awaiting towing or repair and is secured in an access-controlled mine site or quarry.

• Marginal note:Storage — contaminated units

  (4) A mobile process unit that has not been decontaminated must be kept at the location specified in the licence or certificate.

• Marginal note:Tanks and hoppers

  (5) The explosives and raw material in the tanks and hoppers on a mobile process unit must be unloaded if the unit will not be used for three consecutive days. However, the fuel oil tank and prill hopper do not have to be unloaded.