The Manufacture and Storage of Explosives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006

In these Regulations—

• “the 1875 Act” means the Explosives Act 18752;

• “the 1978 Order” means the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978;

• “ammonium nitrate blasting intermediate” means non-sensitised mixtures of, primarily, ammonium nitrate and other substances which are not themselves explosive, such as oxidisers and fuels, intended to produce a blasting explosive only after further processing prior to use and classified in accordance with the United Nations Recommendations as falling within Class 5.1;

• “black powder” means an intimate mixture, with or without sulphur, of charcoal or other carbon with potassium nitrate or sodium nitrate, whether the mixture is in meal, granular, compressed or pelletised form, being an explosive substance allocated in accordance with the United Nations Recommendations the U.N. nos. 0027 or 0028;

• “centre point”, in relation to a store or a building, means the centre point of the store or building determined as far as is reasonably possible;

• “Class 1” means Class 1 in respect of explosives or the classification of dangerous goods as set out in the United Nations Recommendations;

• “desensitised explosive” means—

  1. a

     a solid explosive substance which has been wetted with water or alcohol or diluted with one or more other substances; or

  2. b

     a liquid explosive substance which has been dissolved or suspended in water with one or more other substances,

  to form a homogeneous mixture so as to suppress its explosive properties and which, without that treatment, would be classified in accordance with the United Nations Recommendations as falling within Class 1;

• “disposes”, in relation to explosives and explosive-contaminated items, means destroying the explosives or explosive-contaminated items or otherwise rendering them harmless;

• “explosive” means—

  1. a

     any explosive article or explosive substance which would—

     1. i

        if packaged for transport, be classified in accordance with the United Nations Recommendations as falling within Class 1; or

     2. ii

        be classified in accordance with the United Nations Recommendations as—

        1. aa

           being unduly sensitive or so reactive as to be subject to spontaneous reaction and accordingly too dangerous to transport; and

        2. bb

           falling within Class 1; or

  2. b

     a desensitised explosive,

  but it does not include an explosive substance produced as part of a manufacturing process which thereafter reprocesses it in order to produce a substance or preparation which is not an explosive substance;

• “explosive article” means an article containing one or more explosive substances;

• “explosive substance” means a substance or preparation, not including a substance or preparation in a solely gaseous form or in the form of vapour, which is—

  1. a

     capable by chemical reaction in itself of producing gas at such a temperature and pressure and at such a speed as could cause damage to surroundings; or

  2. b

     designed to produce an effect by heat, light, sound, gas or smoke, or a combination of any of these as a result of a non-detonative, self-sustaining, exothermic chemical reaction;

• “firearm” and “firearms dealer” have the meaning given to them by Article 2(2) of the Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 20043;

• “fireworks” means the explosive articles allocated in accordance with the United Nations Recommendations any of the U.N. nos. 0333 to 0337;

• “harbour” means a harbour which is within the jurisdiction of a harbour authority and includes—

  1. a

     the areas of water within the jurisdiction of that harbour authority; and

  2. b

     land within the jurisdiction of, or occupied by, the harbour authority and used in connection with the loading and unloading of ships,

  but does not include the areas of water which are within the jurisdiction not only of the harbour authority but also of another harbour authority and which are used primarily by ships using berths within the harbour of that other harbour authority;

• “harbour authority” means—

  1. a

     in relation to a harbour area, the statutory harbour authority by reference to which that harbour area is defined; and

  2. b

     in relation to a harbour, any person being, or claiming to be—

     1. i

        the proprietor of that harbour; or

     2. ii

        entrusted with the duty, or invested with the duty, or invested with the power of improving, managing, maintaining or regulating that harbour;

• “hazard type” means any of Hazard Type 1 explosive, Hazard Type 2 explosive, Hazard Type 3 explosive or Hazard Type 4 explosive;

• “Hazard Type 1 explosive” means an explosive which, as a result of, or as a result of any effect of, the conditions of its storage or process of manufacture, has a mass explosion hazard;

• “Hazard Type 2 explosive” means an explosive which, as a result of, or as a result of any effect of, the conditions of its storage or process of manufacture, has a serious projectile hazard but does not have a mass explosion hazard;

• “Hazard Type 3 explosive” means an explosive which, as a result of, or as a result of any effect of, the conditions of its storage or process of manufacture, has a fire hazard and either a minor blast hazard or a minor projectile hazard, or both, but does not have a mass explosion hazard;

• “Hazard Type 4 explosive” means an explosive which, as a result of, or as a result of any effect of, the conditions of its storage or process of manufacture, has a fire hazard or slight explosion hazard, or both, with only local effect;

• “headquarters” means a headquarters for the time being specified in Schedule 2 to the Visiting Forces and International Headquarters (Application of Law) Order 19994;

• “Her Majesty’s Forces” means any of the naval, military or air forces of the Crown, whether raised inside or outside the United Kingdom and whether any such force is a regular, auxiliary or reserve force, and includes any civilian employee of the Ministry of Defence attached to those forces;

• “licence” means a licence for the manufacture or storage of explosives granted under regulation 11 and includes a varied licence;

• “licensee” means a person who has been granted a licence under regulation 11 and includes a person to whom a licence is transferred and a person treated under regulation 20 as being licensed;

• “manufacture” includes—

  1. a

     in relation to explosive articles, their repair, modification, disassembly or unmaking; and

  2. b

     in relation to explosive substances, their reprocessing, modification or adaptation,

  but it does not include the packing, unpacking, re-packing, labelling or testing of explosives or the division of a quantity of explosives stored in bulk into smaller quantities and the placing of those smaller quantities into containers;

• “mine” means an excavation or system of excavations, including all such excavations to which a common system of ventilation is provided, made for the purpose of, or in connection with, the extraction, wholly or substantially by means involving the employment of persons below ground, of minerals (whether in their natural state or in solution or suspension) or products of minerals;

• “non-sensitised” means giving a negative test result when subjected to Test Series 8 of the Manual of Tests and Criteria, fourth edition5, supporting the United Nations Recommendations;

• “percussion caps” means items intended for use in small arms ammunition allocated in accordance with the United Nations Recommendations the U.N. nos. 0044, 0377 or 0378;

• “police force”, for the purposes of regulations 3(3)(c) and (5)(b), 5(3)(d) and 26(6), includes—

  1. a

     any Harbour or Airport Police;

  2. b

     the Ministry of Defence Police; and

  3. c

     the Police Service of Northern Ireland;

• “preparation” means a mixture of two or more substances or a solution of any substance or substances;

• “propellant” means a deflagrating explosive used as a propellant in firearms;

• “public consultation zone” means the area around the building where the manufacture of explosives takes place or is proposed to take place or the store or proposed store, which, from the centre point of the building or store, has a radius equivalent to double the greatest separation distance required by virtue of these Regulations to apply in the case of that store or building;

• “pyrotechnic” means an explosive article or substance of a kind designed to produce an effect by heat, light, sound, gas or smoke, or a combination of any of these, as a result of non-detonative, self-sustaining, exothermic chemical reactions;

• “quarry” has the meaning assigned to it by regulation 3 of the Quarries Regulations (Northern Ireland) 20066;

• “registered” in relation to a person, means a person registered in respect of the storage of explosives under regulation 13 and includes a person to whom a registration is transferred and a person treated under regulation 20 as being registered;

• “registration” means registration under regulation 13 and “certificate of registration” means a certificate issued under regulation 13(3) F7and includes a varied registration ;

• “renewal of a licence” or “renewal of a registration” means respectively the grant of a licence or issue of a certificate of registration to follow a previous licence or certificate of registration without any amendment or gap in time;

• “separation distance” means the distance between the building in which explosives are, or are to be, manufactured or the store and a building, or other place, in or at which people are, or are likely to be, present either all the time or from time to time;

• “ship” includes every description of vessel used in navigation;

• “shooters' powder” means—

  1. a

     black powder;

  2. b

     smokeless powder; or

  3. c

     any other substance or preparation based on potassium nitrate or nitrocellulose, whether in powder, pelletised or granular form, used, or to be used, as a propellant;

• “site” means the whole area under the control of the same person and for these purposes—

  1. a

     all places adjoining each other under the control of the same person shall be treated as a whole area; and

  2. b

     two or more areas under the control of the same person separated only by a road, railway or inland waterway shall be treated as a whole area;

• “small arms ammunition” means the explosive articles allocated in accordance with the United Nations Recommendations the U.N. nos. 0012, 0014 or 0055 which are intended exclusively for use in small arms;

• “smokeless powder” means an explosive substance allocated in accordance with the United Nations Recommendations the U.N. nos. 0160 or 0161;

• “a store” means a building, enclosed area or metal structure in which explosives are, or are to be, stored;

• “substance” means any natural or artificial substance whether in solid or liquid form or in the form of a gas or vapour;

• “U.N. no.” means United Nations Serial Number, that is to say one of the four-digit numbers devised by the United Nations as a means of identification of types of explosives in accordance with the United Nations Recommendations;

• “United Nations Recommendations” means the United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (based on those originally prepared by the United Nations Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods considered by the Economic and Social Committee of Experts at its twenty-third session (Resolution 645G (XXIII) of 26 April 1957))7 as revised or reissued from time to time;

• “visiting force” has the same meaning as it does for the purpose of any provision of the Visiting Forces Act 19528;

• “water-based”, in relation to explosives, means explosives which are based on water and ammonium nitrate and allocated in accordance with the United Nations Recommendations the U.N. no. 0241;

• “wholly-owned subsidiary” has the same meaning as it is given by Article 4(2) of the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 19869.

For the purposes of these Regulations, and subject to regulation 3(6), the manufacture or storage of ammonium nitrate blasting intermediate shall be deemed to be the manufacture or storage of an explosive.

For the purpose of measuring any distance required to be a separation distance by virtue of these Regulations, the distance to be measured shall be the distance between the outside edge of the building in which the explosives are, or are to be, manufactured or the store and the nearest point of the building, or other place, to which the separation distance applies.

Any reference in these Regulations to the quantity of an explosive shall be construed as a reference to the net mass of explosive substance and, in the case of any pyrotechnic article, the net mass of the explosive shall, for the purposes of these Regulations, be deemed to be one quarter of the gross mass of the pyrotechnic article or, where the manufacturer, importer or supplier specifies a different net mass on the pyrotechnic article, its packaging or a document accompanying the pyrotechnic article, that quantity.

Subject to paragraph (7), where, during any transport of any explosive beyond the place where it is stored, that explosive is, or is to be, kept at any place for more than 24 hours, that keeping shall be treated as storage within the meaning of these Regulations and the provisions of these Regulations shall apply to that keeping accordingly, notwithstanding any application of the provisions of the Carriage of Explosives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 200610 to that transport.

Paragraph (6) shall not apply to explosives in respect of which there is in existence an explosives licence granted under regulation 8(1) of the Explosives in Harbour Areas Regulations (Northern Ireland) 199511.

Any reference in the definitions in this regulation of “desensitised explosive”, “explosive substance”, “pyrotechnic” or “substance” to liquid, gas, gaseous form or vapour means, respectively, liquid, gas, gaseous form or vapour at normal atmospheric temperature and pressure.

In relation to the application of these Regulations to ammonium nitrate blasting intermediate by virtue of regulation 2(2), regulation 10 shall not apply to the storage of ammonium nitrate blasting intermediate.

These Regulations shall not derogate from the provisions of the Explosives Act (Northern Ireland) 197014 or any regulations made under it.

For the purpose of paragraph (1), the reference to the manufacture or storage of explosives shall be deemed to include a reference to any handling, on-site transport and testing of explosives which are associated with that manufacture or storage.

In this regulation, “fire or explosion” means unplanned fire or explosion at the site of manufacture or storage.

Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), every person who stores explosives at a site shall ensure that the relevant separation distance prescribed by Schedule 1 is maintained between a store and a building or other place not within that site to which that Schedule applies.

For the purposes of paragraph (3), a person may not rely on more than one of the exceptions listed in sub-paragraphs (a) to (d) of that paragraph.

Every person to whom the duty under paragraph (1) applies shall ensure that the separation distance referred to in paragraph (6) is maintained between a store and any building on the site on which the store is situated which is used either for accommodation or for work but not including any building used for work which is normally unoccupied by any person and is not a store.

The separation distance referred to in paragraph (5) is that which is equal to half the relevant separation distance determined in accordance with Schedule 1.

Every person, in a case to which regulation 11(4) applies, who is granted a licence to manufacture or store explosives, or whose licence is varied in a way which affects the separation distances required to be maintained, shall ensure that within 28 days of the grant or variation the Department of the Environment is given a plan of the site and its immediate surrounding area showing the separation distances required to be maintained pursuant to the licence.

Any person who disposes of explosives shall ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that they are disposed of safely.

Any person who decontaminates explosive-contaminated items shall ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that they are decontaminated safely.

Where following a request referred to in paragraph (1)(b) the person who has entered that site without permission refuses to leave it, a constable or the occupier, his employee or agent may remove that person from the site using reasonable force, if necessary.

“Enter” for the purpose of this regulation includes entering onto a roof of a building in which explosives are manufactured or a store.

Subject to paragraph (2), a person shall not manufacture explosives unless he holds a licence for that manufacture and complies with the conditions of that licence.

Subject to paragraph (2), a person shall not store explosives unless he holds a licence or certificate of registration for their storage and complies with the conditions of that licence or certificate of registration.

An application for a licence shall be made to the Secretary of State on a form approved for the purpose of this regulation by him.

Subject to paragraph (4), the Secretary of State shall grant a licence unless any of the grounds for refusing to do so referred to in regulation 14 apply.

Subject to paragraph (5), the procedure set out in regulation 12 for holding a public hearing shall apply.

A licence granted pursuant to this regulation shall be in a form approved by the Secretary of State.

In this regulation, “on-site mixing” means the mixing at any place of non-explosive substances or preparations to form an explosive for immediate use at that place.

Subject to regulation 14, where this regulation applies by virtue of regulation 11(4), the Secretary of State shall issue to the applicant a draft licence containing the conditions which the Secretary of State proposes to attach to the licence.

The Secretary of State shall send a copy of any representations referred to in paragraph (2)(a)(ii) to the applicant as soon as reasonably practicable after receiving them.

In considering the representations, the Secretary of State shall have regard only to health and safety matters.

Subject to paragraph (6), the Secretary of State shall, before deciding whether to grant a licence, hold a public hearing within 4 months of the date of his issuing to the applicant the draft licence referred to in paragraph (1).

If, after the period of 28 days referred to in paragraph (2)(a)(ii) has elapsed, the Secretary of State has not received objections to the application, or has only received objections which in his opinion are frivolous or immaterial, he may grant a licence without holding a hearing.

The Secretary of State shall notify the applicant of his decision within 7 days of making it.

The applicant shall pay a fee to the Secretary of State for the performance by him of his functions under this regulation, which fee shall not exceed the sum of the costs reasonably incurred by the Secretary of State in performing those functions.

In this regulation, “applicant” means the applicant for a licence or variation of a licence and “application” means his application.

The Secretary of State shall register the applicant unless any of the grounds for refusing to do so referred to in regulation 14 apply.

Where the Secretary of State registers an applicant, he shall issue to the applicant a certificate of registration, in a form approved for the purpose of this regulation by him.

A registration, including the renewal of a registration, may be issued for such period not exceeding F195 years as the Secretary of State determines.

For the purpose of paragraph (1), no more than one of the F20...sub-paragraphs (a) to (e) of paragraph (1) shall apply to explosives stored at the same site at the same time, irrespective of the person who is storing them.

Where the registration relates to the storage of Hazard Type 4 pyrotechnic articles which are to be offered for sale at the site, the quantity of those pyrotechnic articles which may be kept for any period of time in a sales area at that site shall be restricted to the quantity determined in accordance with Schedule 3 and for these purposes and those of Schedule 3, “sales area” means an area where Hazard Type 4 pyrotechnic articles are sold and to which any person who is not an employee of the person who is registered in respect of the storage of those pyrotechnic articles has access.

An application for registration may not be made in respect of the storage of explosives at a site at which the manufacture of explosives F21, other than manufacture not requiring a licence by virtue of regulation 9(2), also takes place or is to take place except if a licence to manufacture explosives is not required by virtue of regulation 9(2).

The quantities referred to in paragraph (1) are the maximum quantities of explosives F22...to which they respectively relate which may be present at a site at any one time.

A refusal by the Secretary of State, pursuant to paragraph (1), to issue the draft licence referred to in regulation 12(1) shall be treated for the purposes of these Regulations as a refusal of an application for a licence and the provisions of regulation 17 shall apply to a refusal to issue a draft licence as if the references in that regulation to “refuse an application for a licence” included refusing to issue a draft licence.

Subject to regulation 17, a licence may be varied on the grounds referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or (b) without the agreement of the licensee.

In this regulation any reference to varying a licence includes varying its conditions.

Representations made for the purpose of paragraph (1) shall be made in writing.

Where the Secretary of State varies a licence F32or registration without the agreement of the licensee F33or registered person or revokes a licence or registration, that variation or revocation shall take effect from a date to be determined by the Secretary of State which shall be a date after the 28 day period referred to in paragraph (1).

A licence or registration may be transferred in writing by the Secretary of State to any other person who wishes to manufacture or store explosives in place of the licensee or registered person and who applies to the Secretary of State for the transfer.

Where the Secretary of State is of an opinion referred to in paragraph (2)(a) or (b), he shall, subject to regulation 17, refuse the application to transfer the licence or registration, as the case may be.

A fee shall be payable by the applicant to the Secretary of State where the Secretary of State requires any work to be carried out by his specialist inspectors in connection with any application in respect of which a fee is payable by virtue of paragraph (1) for any purpose specified in column 2 of Schedule 4 for which there is a corresponding entry in column 4 of that Schedule, and the fee for the work in connection with such purpose shall be that specified in the corresponding entry in column 4 of that Schedule for each hour worked, adjusted pro rata for a period worked of less than one hour, and such fee shall be payable prior to the notification of the result of the application.

Schedule 4 shall have effect subject to the Notes to it.

Where any fee is to be assessed on the reasonable cost to the Secretary of State of carrying out any work under paragraph (1), he shall on receipt of the application first prepare and send to the applicant an estimate of that cost and shall, before carrying out the work, obtain confirmation from the applicant that he wishes the work to be carried out on the basis of that estimate of cost.

Nothing in this regulation shall be construed as making a fee payable by a person in any of the capacities referred to in Article 40(4) of the 1978 Order.

If a licensee or registered person becomes bankrupt or, in the case of a company, goes into liquidation or receivership or has a receiving order made against it, any receiver, trustee in bankruptcy or liquidator shall be treated as being the licensee or registered person and shall notify the Secretary of State of his appointment within 28 days from such appointment.

In proceedings against a person for a contravention of regulation 10(1), it shall be a defence for that person to prove that the storage of explosives without a licence or certificate of registration, or in breach of a condition of a licence or certificate of registration, was caused by an emergency being an emergency which that person took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid.

In proceedings against a person for a contravention of regulation 10(1) where it is alleged against that person that the storage concerned was for a period longer than a period (“the permitted period”) referred to in regulation 10(2)(b) to (e), it shall be for that person to prove that the storage concerned was for no longer than the permitted period.

This regulation does not apply to any pyrotechnic named in a list, approved by the Health and Safety Executive established under section 10 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 197416, of pyrotechnics falling within the description referred to in paragraph (1).

This regulation does not apply to a person who is transporting fireworks on behalf of another person.

Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary of State may, by a certificate in writing, exempt any person or class of persons or any explosive or class of explosives from any requirement or prohibition imposed by these Regulations, and any such exemption may be granted subject to such conditions and to a time limit and may be revoked by him in writing at any time.

The Secretary of State for Defence may, in the interests of national security, by a certificate in writing, exempt any of Her Majesty’s Forces, any visiting force, any headquarters or any civilian employee or class of civilian employees of the Ministry of Defence from all or any of the requirements or prohibitions imposed by these Regulations and any such exemption may be granted subject to conditions and to a time limit and may be revoked by him in writing at any time.

A registration under section 21 of the 1875 Act which was valid immediately before the relevant date shall be deemed to be a registration under regulation 13 and shall continue in operation, notwithstanding the repeal by these Regulations of the said section 21, until the date it was due to expire or it is revoked, whichever is the sooner.

In a case to which paragraph (3) applies, regulation 11(4) shall not apply in relation to an application for a licence made to, and received by, the Secretary of State before 1st December 2009.

In relation to the application of these Regulations to the manufacture of ammonium nitrate blasting intermediate by virtue of regulation 2(2), where a person is manufacturing any ammonium nitrate blasting intermediate on the relevant date, regulations 9, 11 and 14 to 22 shall not apply to that manufacture by that person until 1st December 2009.

The requirements of regulation 5 and Schedule 1 shall not apply until 1st December 2009 to a police force storing explosives.

The requirements of regulation 5 and Schedule 1 shall not apply until 1st December 2011 to a person who stores explosives in respect of which storage there is a deemed registration in operation on the relevant date.

The requirements of regulation 5 and Schedule 1 shall not apply until 1st December 2009 to a person who stores explosives in respect of which storage there is a deemed licence in operation on the relevant date.

A firearms dealer who has a Mode A deemed registration in operation on the relevant date may continue to store the quantity of explosives permitted by that registration until 1st December 2011.

The Secretary of State shall not grant a licence applied for pursuant to paragraph (10) unless he is satisfied that it would not be reasonably practicable for the applicant to comply with the separation distances required by regulation 5 and Schedule 1 to which the application relates.

Where, on the relevant date, a person holds more than one deemed licence, each relating to the storage of explosive at separate places within the same site and the aggregate quantity of explosives allowed to be stored at that site pursuant to those deemed licences exceeds 2000 kilograms, that person shall apply before 1st December 2009 to the Secretary of State for a licence to replace those deemed licences for the storage of any explosives that he wishes to store at that site; and, on the date that a licence is granted pursuant to such an application, any such deemed licence shall be treated as revoked under regulation 16 as from that last mentioned date.

Where an application for a licence pursuant to section 6 of the 1875 Act20 has been made to, and received by, the Secretary of State before the relevant date and the application has not been refused nor has a licence been granted by that date, the application shall be deemed to be an application for a licence under these Regulations and the provisions of these Regulations shall apply to the application, subject to paragraph (16) in relation to the application of any requirements of regulations 11(4) and 12 to any such licence application.

An application for an amending licence under section 12 of the 1875 Act which is made to and received by, but not decided by, the Secretary of State before the relevant date, shall be deemed to be an application for a variation of a licence under these Regulations and the provisions of these Regulations shall apply to the application accordingly.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The primary legislation specified in Part 1 of Schedule 6 and the secondary legislation specified in Part 2 of that Schedule shall be amended in accordance with the provisions of that Schedule.

The primary legislation specified in column 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 7 shall be repealed to the extent specified in column 3 of that Schedule.

The secondary legislation specified in column 1 of Part 2 of Schedule 7 shall be revoked to the extent specified in column 3 of that Schedule.