CHANGES TO PETROLEUM LEGISLATION By John Hazeldean. H M Principal Specialist Inspector - HSE
The definition of dispensing is: 'Dispensing means manual or electrical pumping of petroleum-spirit from a storage tank into the fuel tank of an internal combustion engine, whether for the purposes of sale or not. Changes in licensing requirements The amendments and repeals by DSEAR to petroleum legislation have the effect of removing the requirement of petroleum licensing for all workplace storage of petroleum except where it is kept in connection with dispensing (as defined above). As DSEAR only applies to workplaces the overall effect is that petroleum licences are now only required for: petrol dispensing and associated activities at retail petrol filling stations
Introduction By the time this edition of 'Bulletin' is published it is anticipated that new regulations entitled 'The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR) will have been made. These regulations will come into force early in December and are concerned with controlling the risks of fire, explosions and similar events arising from dangerous substances used or present in the workplace. The definition of a dangerous substance within DSEAR includes petroleum spirit and the regulations implement important changes to petroleum legislation as it is applied to workplace activities. These changes will take effect from the date the regulations come into force and can be considered as the first step in a three phase programme to modernise the existing but old petroleum legislation. This article outlines the legislative changes that will occur with the introduction of DSEAR and at the same time gives a brief overview of the new regulations. New definitions for petrol and dispensing DSEAR defines petroleum-spirit as: Petroleum-spirit means petroleum which, when tested in accordance with Part A9 of the Annex to the Directive, has a flashpoint (as defined in that Part) of less than 21°C. The Directive referred to in this definition is the Commission Directive 92/69 EEC which has been implemented into UK law as the Chemical (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations. This definition is similar to that already in use in that it relates to a flashpoint and petroleum as defined by the Petroleum Consolidation Act 1928 (PCA) and as such will include chemicals such as hexane, toluene and benzene. However, DSEAR also includes a definition of dispensing which is used to limit the requirements for petroleum licensing at the workplace under PCA.
petrol dispensing and associated activities at non-retail petrol filling stations the keeping of petroleum-spirit at non-workplace premises These changes also clarify the situation for certain process activities such as dispensing petrol into vehicles on manufacturing lines where previously there was some confusion as to whether or not PCA applied. As these activities clearly involve dispensing, as now defined, the whole process including storage, transfer lines and dispensing will all be subject to licensing. Other activities involving extracting petrol from scrap vehicles will also be subject to licensing if the recovered petrol is then dispensed using a pump into the tank of an internal combustion engine. At premises where licensing is required enforcement will still be carried out by the existing Petroleum Licensing Authorities. In addition to enforcing the requirements under PCA the licensing authorities will now also be responsible for enforcing the requirements of DSEAR for the petroleum dispensing and related activities at the site. Unloading Petrol Tankers The unloading of petrol from tankers is currently controlled by Regulation 20 and Schedule 12 of the Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road Regulations. As part of the project to modernise petrol legislation these requirements will be replaced by an Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) under DSEAR. This change will occur in May 2003 - six months after the main DSEAR regulations come into force. It is intended that the ACOP will be published in February 2003 enabling site operators, tanker operators and the enforcing agencies to become familiar with its content before it comes into force. PLAs will retain the responsibility for enforcement of legislation during the tanker unloading operation
including enforcement of DSEAR and aspects of Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.
Other Fuels
At premises requiring a petroleum licence the PLAs will also be responsible for enforcing DSEAR at the licensed premise where it applies to other fuels which are both classified as dangerous substances and which are dispensed into the tanks of internal combustion engines. These fuels which include auto-gas and compressed natural gas will not, however, be subject to licensing. Fuels kept at sites where petrol is not dispensed will again be subject to the requirements of DSEAR but enforcement responsibility will fall to the relevant enforcing authority for the site and not the PLAs. O n the other hand the dispensing of liquid methane at both retail and non-retail facilities will still continue to require a licence under PCA. Where petrol is used at engine test beds for either research or manufacturing purposes the petrol will be either piped directly from a storage tank to the test bed cell or decanted into the fuel system using portable cans. This is not considered to be dispensing and will not therefore require a licence under PCA.
Bulk Storage and Can Stores
Petroleum-spirit and petroleum mixtures stored at the workplace in tanks, drums or cans for further processing or for distribution and where there is no dispensing activity (as defined) will now no longer require a licence under PCA. Enforcement of controls relating to fires and explosions will be by the relevant authority as determined by the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1989 by the application of DSEAR and other relevant health and safety legislation. Guidance on the requirements for products stored in tanks or containers can be found in various existing HSE publications or in the Approved Codes of Practice that are planned for publication in May 2003. Petroleum spirit or mixtures kept privately will continue as present to be subject to PCA and where necessary will require a licence.
materials present or used in the workplace and also from the risks arising from explosive atmospheres. Additionally there is also an underlying need to modernise existing legislation by moving away from prescriptive regulations and introducing risk based and goal setting regulations. DSEAR implements the safety aspects of the Directives and at the same time will allow the modernisation and repeal of about 20 pieces of old safety legislation on flammable substances, liquids, dusts and petroleum. Overall, DSEAR can be seen to be an expansion of the general duties under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. DSEAR makes explicit good practices for reducing the risk to persons from fires, explosions and similar energetic (energy releasing) events which in turn are caused by dangerous substances or activities involving dangerous substances. The impact of these regulations on the diligent employer should be small but never-the-less they do contain some new requirements. The main requirements of these Regulations are that employers and the self-employed must: carry out a risk assessment of any work activities involving dangerous substances; provide technical and organisational measures to eliminate or reduce risks as far as is reasonably practicable: provide equipment and procedures to deal with accidents and emergencies; provide information and training to employees; classify places where explosive atmospheres may occur into zones and mark the zones where necessary. (This duty is being phased in over a period of three years commencing in June 2003 for new facilities). The regulations specify various activities and factors that need to be included in the risk assessment and requires the employer to record the significant findings of the assessment if he has five or more employees. DSEAR also requires that the assessment is carried out before commencing any new work activity and that the measures identified as necessary by the risk assessment are implemented before the work commences.
Overview of DSEAR
It is not the intention of this article to explain in depth the requirements of DSEAR but it is considered useful at this stage to provide an overview of the regulations and to direct the readers to other information sources. The main driving force behind these regulations is the need to implement the Chemical Agents and the Explosive Atmospheres (ATEX 137) Directives. These are concerned with protecting workers and others from the fire, explosion and health risks from certain chemical
DSEAR reinforces the well-understood safety hierarchy of: Elimination Control Mitigation Elimination of risks by substitution with a substance that has no or even less hazardous properties is clearly not possible for facilities retailing or using fuels and therefore
the main emphasis has to be on control measures followed by mitigation measures. DSEAR details the measures that need to be applied to control risks and specifies the order in which they should be considered. Control measures, however, are only required so far as they are reasonably practicable and so that they are consistent with the risk assessment and appropriate to the nature of the activity. Any unacceptable residual risks that remain after the control measures have been applied should be effectively contained by mitigation measures. Again DSEAR specifies mitigation measures that should be considered but does not provide an order of priority or an exhaustive list. This allows the employer to select measures that are most appropriate to the actual circumstances of the activity.
dispensing facility together with a general requirement to comply with DSEAR. It is anticipated that an Approved Code of Practice would be necessary to provide information and guidance on the day to day running of the facility. In the meantime Petroleum Licensing Authorities will need to consider how their detailed and prescriptive licence conditions sit along side the risk assessment requirements of DSEAR and whether any revisions to their licence conditions are necessary.
Further Guidance
The changes discussed above can be summarised in the following table: on the next page.
The actual regulations will be available in December but detailed guidance and Approved Codes of Practice for DSEAR will be published by HSE as follows: 'Fire and Explosion - How safe is your workplace ?' A short guide for small and medium sized businesses. Available in early December 2002. Guidance and general ACOPs for DSEAR. Available early 2003 ACOP on Unloading Petrol from Road Tankers. Available Feb 2003 Specific ACOPs on Storage, Equipment, Maintenance, Control Measures and Emergencies. Available May 2003. The dates quoted are at the moment only approximations and readers are advised to keep an eye on the DSEAR page of the HSE website for more information on key publication dates (www.hse.gov.uk/spd/content/dsear.htm).
Next Steps As mentioned above the introduction of DSEAR and the changes to workplace storage of petrol can be considered as the first phase in a three phase modernisation programme for petroleum legislation. The next phase is equally important and will commence early in 2003 with any new legislation planned to come into force in mid 2004. This second phase will review the need for licensing conditions at petrol dispensing facilities particularly in light of the public consultation exercise already carried out and the dual enforcement regime now in place under PCA and DSEAR. Proposals to be considered under the second phase include a permissioning scheme to approve or vet in advance the design and construction of the petrol
Phase three of modernising petrol legislation programme will review the storage of petrol in domestic accommodation and will follow on from phase two. Summary of Changes to Petroleum Legislation under Phase One
Table Summarising Changes to Petroleum Legislation
Notes: 1) ‘Change’ refers to a change in the application of PCA or a different enforcing authority. It does not include changes as a consequence of DSEAR applying which will be common to all workplace activities. 2) The table does not consider bulk facilities for petroleum-spirit or liquid methane that are subject to COMAH and NIHHS Regs where enforcement is already the responsibility of HSE.