The Notification of Installations Handling Hazardous Substances Regulations 1982

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Notification of Installations Handling Hazardous Substances Regulations 1982 and shall come into operation on 1st January 1983.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

“the Executive” means the Health and Safety Executive;

“installation” means a site or pipe–line for which a notification is required under Regulation 3(1);

“hazardous substance” means a substance specified in column 1 of Part I of Schedule 1 to these Regulations or substances of any class specified in column 1 of Part II of that Schedule;

“notifiable quantity” means—

(a)

in the case of a substance specified in column 1 of Part I of Schedule 1, the quantity of that substance specified in the corresponding entry in column 2 of that Part;

(b)

in the case of substances of a class specified in column 1 of Part II of that Schedule, the total quantity of all substances of that class specified in the corresponding entry in column 2 of that Part;

and in either case the quantity shall be determined in accordance with Regulation 3(2);

“site” means—

(a)

the whole of an area of land under the control of a person and includes a pier, jetty or similar structure whether floating or not; or

(b)

a structure, whether floating or not, which is within the inland waters of Great Britain and which is under the control of a person.

(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, any reference to—

(a) a numbered Regulation or Schedule is a reference to the Regulation of or Schedule to these Regulations so numbered; and

(b) a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph so numbered in the Regulation or Schedule in which that reference appears.

Notification of installations handling hazardous substances

3.—(1) Subject to paragraph (3), a person shall not undertake any activity in which there is or is liable to be at any one time a notifiable quantity or more of a hazardous substance at any site, or in any pipe–line to which paragraph (4) applies, unless he has notified in writing to the Executive the particulars specified in the appropriate part of Schedule 2 at least 3 months before commencing that activity or before such shorter time as the Executive may agree and for the purposes of this paragraph an activity in which subsequently there is or is liable to be a notifiable quantity or more of an additional hazardous substance shall be deemed to be a different activity and shall be notified accordingly.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), in determining whether there is a notifiable quantity of a hazardous substance at a site account shall be taken of any quantity of that substance which is—

(a) in that part of any pipe–line under the control of the person having control of the site, which is within 500 metres of that site and connected to it;

(b) at any other site under the control of the same person any part of the boundary of which is within 500 metres of the said site; and

(c) in any vehicle, vessel, aircraft or hovercraft under the control of the same person which is used for storage purposes either at the site or within 500 metres of it;

but no account shall be taken of any hazardous substance which is in a vehicle, vessel, aircraft or hovercraft used for transporting it.

(3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply in relation to waste at any site which is licensed for the disposal of such waste by a licence issued in pursuance of section 5 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974.

(4) The pipe–lines referred to in paragraph (1) are any pipe–line within the meaning of the Pipe–lines Act 1962 except—

(a) a pipe–line which has been authorised under section 1 of that Act or notified under section 2 of that Act; or

(b) where the only hazardous substance that the pipe–line contains is a substance of one of the following classes, namely:—

(i) a flammable gas as defined in item 1 of Part II of Schedule 1 at a pressure of less than 8 bars absolute, or

(ii) a flammable liquid as defined in item 4 of that Part.

Updating of the notification following changes in the notifiable activity

4.  Where an activity has been notified in accordance with Regulation 3(1) and the person having control of that activity makes a change in it (including an increase or a reduction in the maximum quantity of any hazardous substance which is or is liable to be at the site or in the pipe–line or the cessation of the activity) which affects the particulars specified in that notification or any subsequent notification made under this Regulation or Regulation 5, he shall forthwith notify the Executive of that change.

Re–notification where the quantity of a substance is increased to 3 times that already notified

5.  Where an activity at a site has been notified to the Executive in accordance with Regulation 3(1), the quantity of a substance notified under paragraph 7 of Part I of Schedule 2 shall not be increased to an amount 3 or more times that originally notified unless the activity has been re–notified under that Regulation as if it were a new activity; and accordingly Regulation 4 shall not apply to that increase.

Exemption Certificates

6.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2) below, the Executive may, by certificate in writing, exempt any person or class of persons, activity or class of activities to which these Regulations apply from any requirement or prohibition imposed by these Regulations and any such exemption may be granted subject to conditions and to a limit of time and may be revoked by a certificate in writing at any time.

(2) The Executive shall not grant any such exemption unless, having regard to the circumstances of the case, and in particular to—

(a) the conditions, if any, which it proposes to attach to the exemption; and

(b) any other requirements imposed by or under any enactment which apply to the case,

it is satisfied that the health and safety of persons who are likely to be affected by the exemption will not be prejudiced because of it.

Enforcing authority

7.—(1) Notwithstanding Regulation 3 of the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1977(1), and Regulation 2(3) of the Petroleum (Consolidation) Act 1928 (Enforcement) Regulations 1979, the enforcing authority for the relevant statutory provisions in relation to any site at which there is an activity required to be notified under these Regulations or which is to be taken into account by virtue of Regulation 3(2), shall be the Executive.

(2) After 1st February 1985, for cases where the quantity of any substance at a site on which there is an activity which is required to be notified under these Regulations is such that a licence is required under the Petroleum (Consolidation) Act 1928 for the keeping of that substance, the Executive shall be the authority empowered to grant such a licence and to enforce any conditions attached to any such licence (whether granted by it or not); and that Act shall be modified accordingly.

Transitional provision

8.  Where—

(a) at the date of coming into operation of these Regulations a person is in control of an activity which is required to be notified under Regulation 3(1); or

(b) within 6 months after that date a person commences any such activity:

it shall be a sufficient compliance with that Regulation if he notifies to the Executive the particulars required by Schedule 2 to these Regulations within 3 months after the coming into operation of these Regulations or within such longer time as the Executive may agree in writing.

Signed by order of the Secretary of State.

David Waddington

Joint Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Department of Employment

22nd September 1982