Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act No. 85 of 1993)Explosives Regulations, 200213. Safe handling of explosives |
| (1) | An employer, self-employed person or user shall ensure that– |
| (a) | all explosives or ingredients thereof are at all times free of foreign material; |
| (b) | all reasonable precautions are taken to prevent the spillage of explosives; |
| (c) | cleaning procedures in the case of a spillage of explosives are prescribed in writing by the explosives manager: Provided that where no cleaning procedures have been prescribed any unusual spillage of explosives shall be reported immediately to the supervising official: |
| (d) | all waste, paper, timber, rags, cotton and similar materials that have been in contact with explosives or an ingredient of an explosive are disposed of in a manner prescribed in writing by the explosives manager: Provided that at the end of the working day all waste and floor sweepings from danger buildings shall be deposited in the designated places; |
| (e) | the explosives or partly mixed explosives are conveyed as soon and as carefully as possible and taking such precautions and in such a manner as will effectively guard against any accidental ignition or explosion |
| (f) | only containers provided for the conveyance of explosives are used for transporting explosives or partly mixed explosives and that such containers are at all times kept clean, free from grit and in a good state of repair: |
| (g) | vehicles containing explosives are left unattended only in designated places |
| (h) | except for drying purposes, preparation on burning grounds or testing, explosives are not exposed to direct rays i f the sun or to rain, whether being transported or not; and |
| (i) | manufactured explosives are removed as soon as is reasonably possible from the process building to an explosives workplace magazine or that they are immediately dispatched. |
| (2) | An employer, self-employed person or user shall ensure that – |
| (a) | all material, equipment, tools or similar articles used in a danger area are decontaminated after such use, and that no person makes use of any such article that has not been decontaminated after use in a contaminated area; and |
| (b) | the certification of the decontamination process contemplated in paragraph (a) is certified and approved by the explosives manager or a person authorised by the explosives manager. |
| (3) | Unless permission has been granted by the chief inspector of occupational health and safety, no person shall use– |
| (a) | explosives in workplaces other than explosives workplaces approved by the chief inspector of occupational health and safety; and |
| (b) | any explosives for which no provision is made in these regulations. |
| (4) | An employer, self-employed person or user shall ensure that– |
| (a) | explosives are transported and stored together or separately in the explosives workplace in accordance with the compatibility group assignments given in the South African Code of Practice SABS 0228, The Identification and Classification of Dangerous Goods for Transport; and |
| (b) | when explosives can be categorized in more than one group, they are deemed to belong exclusively to the higher risk compatibility group given in the South African Code of Practice SABS 0228: The Identification and Classification of Dangerous Goods for Transport. |
| (5) | No person shall– |
| (a) | by leaving explosives unattended allow unauthorized access to such explosives; and |
| (b) | bury, dump, hide or abandon any explosives. |
| (6) | No person shall use any explosive material for blasting purposes unless– |
| (a) | he or she is in possession of a written permission issued by or under the authority of the chief inspector of occupational health and safety; |
| (b) | he or she is undergoing training while using such blasting material under the immediate and constant supervision of a person who is in possession of a permission contemplated in paragraph (a); |
| (c) | he or she is trained and is authorized by the chief inspector of occupational health and safety to destroy or test explosives in a licensed workplace; or |
| (d) | if the blasting material is used in a workplace other than a manufacturing or testing workplaces he or she– |
| (i) | informs the provincial director not less than 24 hours prior to such use; and |
| (ii) | is in possession of written permission issued by or under the authority of the chief inspector of explosives. |
| (7) | No person shall permit any other person who is not in possession of such a permission to use any blasting material unless such other person is, while using such blasting material, under the immediate and constant supervision of a person who is in possession of such permission. |
| (8) | Any explosives for which provision is not made in these regulations, shall be used only in such manner and under such conditions as may be prescribed, in writing, by the chief inspector of occupational health and safety. |
| (9) | Any permission issued prior to the date of promulgation of these regulations shall be deemed valid: Provided that the conditions for obtaining a permission as determined in these regulations shall be complied with within six months of promulgation of these regulations. |