Canada has a new national standard on the manufacturing and storage of explosives. The Standards Council of Canada (SCC) and the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (BNQ) on May 4 announced NSC CAN/BNQ 2910-510 Explosives – Quantity Distances. The National Standard of Canada standard aims to help the explosives industry control risks to workers, the public and infrastructure by serving as a guide for those involved in planning the location of explosives storage or manufacturing facilities.
The new standard replaces Natural Resource Canada’s (NRCan’s) User’s Manual for Quantity Distance Principle, a reference document used in the issuance of licences and certificates under the Explosives Act. Explosives – Quantity Distances includes all the requirements for separation distances for explosives in one document and incorporates new information on technical requirements.
“In setting minimum separation distances between the different sites, this standard is designed to improve safety within the industry,” BNQ senior director Jean Rousseau said in a statement issued by the SCC and BNQ on May 4.
Chief Executive Officer of the SCC John Walter said in the statement that the standard demonstrates a commitment to lead the modernization of standards referenced in regulations. “By working together with the standardization network, we have ensured this standard reflects current practice and innovation in the explosives industry, while keeping Canadians safe.”
The goal is to minimize the risk to life and property, said the statement. The document specifies minimum separation distances between potential explosion sites and exposed sites and applies to all locations where the explosion of stored or manufactured explosives could create a blast.
“What we’ve tried to do is come up with a comprehensive document that you would have all the requirements that applies to quantity distance,” said standards writer Sylvie Gingras. The quantity distance manual published by NRCan is “a little bit outdated,” she explained.
Previously, industry professionals had to sort through many revisions contained in multiple documents to find information applicable to minimum distances at explosives sites. “This is the reason why they [NRCan] felt that it would be a good idea to develop the National Standard of Canada [standard] on this topic,” Gingras said.
The standard aims to protect workers by specifying minimum distances between workers and explosives manufacturing and storage facilities. Administrative office staff must be as far away from explosives as any other inhabited building, while non-essential workers must always keep a minimum distance from explosives. The standard specifies that only those who are critical to manufacturing operations should be allowed to stand next to explosives.
The standard represents a consensus among industry and government and incorporates comments made during public consultations, Gingras said.
“There are no current plans to update Canada’s Explosives Regulations,” said NRCan spokesperson Jacinthe Perras. “This new standard supports Natural Resources Canada’s modernized Explosives Regulations, which came into force on February 1, 2014, with a phased-in approach for some provisions over the following 24 months.”
The new standard will be available on the BNQ website in English at http://www2.bnq.qc.ca/en/index.html.