The Planning (Hazardous Substances) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015

NOTES TO PART B

1.  Substances and preparations shall be classified for the purposes of this Schedule according to regulation 4 of the Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009(1) (“CHIP”) whether or not the substance or preparation is required to be classified for the purposes of those Regulations or, in the case of a pesticide approved under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985(2) in accordance with the classification assigned to it by that approval.

2.  An “explosive” means:

(a) a substance or preparation which creates the risk of an explosion by shock, friction, fire or other sources of ignition (risk phrase R2),

(b) a substance or preparation which creates extreme risks of explosion by shock, friction, fire or other sources of ignition (risk phrase R3), or

(c) a substance, preparation or article covered by Class 1 of the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (UN/ADR), concluded on 30 September 1957, as amended, as transposed by Council Directive 94/55/EC of 21 November 1994 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States with regard to the transport of dangerous goods by road(3).

Included in this definition are pyrotechnics, which for the purposes of these Regulations are defined as substances (or mixtures of substances), designated to produce heat, light, sound, gas or smoke or a combination of such effects through self sustained exothermic chemical reactions.

Where a substance or preparation is classified by both UN/ADR and risk phrase R2 or R3, the UN/ADR classification shall take precedence over assignment of risk phrases.

Substances and articles of Class 1 are classified in any of the divisions 1.1 to 1.6 in accordance with the UN/ADR classification scheme. The divisions concerned are:

• Division 1.1: Substances and articles which have a mass explosion hazard (a mass explosion is an explosion which affects almost the entire load virtually instantaneously).

• Division 1.2: Substances and articles which have a projection hazard but not a mass explosion hazard.

• Division 1.3: Substances and articles which have a fire hazard and either a minor blast hazard or a minor projection hazard or both, but not a mass explosion hazard:

  (i)

  combustion of which gives rise to considerable radiant heat; or

  (ii)

  which burn one after another, producing minor blast or projection effects or both.

• Division 1.4: Substances and articles which present only a slight risk in the event of ignition or initiation during carriage. The effects are largely confined to the package and no projection of fragments of appreciable size or range is to be expected. An external fire shall not cause virtually instantaneous explosion of virtually the entire contents of the package.

• Division 1.5: Very insensitive substances having a mass explosion hazard which are so insensitive that there is very little probability of initiation or of transition from burning to detonation under normal conditions of carriage. As a minimum requirement they shall not explode in the external fire test.

• Division 1.6: Extremely insensitive articles which do not have a mass explosion hazard. The articles contain only extremely insensitive detonating substances and demonstrate a negligible probability of accidental initiation or propagation. The risk is limited to the explosion of a single article.

Included in this definition are also explosive or pyrotechnic substances or preparations contained in articles. In the case of articles containing explosive or pyrotechnic substances or preparations, if the quantity of the substance or preparation contained is known, that quantity shall be considered for the purposes of these Regulations. If the quantity is not known, then, for the purposes of these Regulations, the whole article shall be treated as explosive.

3.  In categories 6, 7, 8 and 9 “flammable”, “highly flammable” and “extremely flammable” mean—

(a) flammable liquids: means substances and preparations having a flash point equal to or greater than 21°C and less than or equal to 55°C (risk phrase R 10), supporting combustion;

(b) highly flammable liquid means—

(i) substances and preparations which may become hot and finally catch fire in contact with air at ambient temperature without any input or energy (risk phrase R 17); and

(ii) substances and preparations which have a flash point lower than 55°C and which remain liquid under pressure, where particular processing conditions, such as high pressure or high temperature, may create major-accident hazards;

(iii) substances and preparations having a flash point lower than 21°C and which are not extremely flammable (risk phrase R11, second indent);

(c) extremely flammable gases and liquids means—

(i) liquid substances and preparations which have a flash point lower than 0°C and the boiling point (or, in the case of a boiling range, the initial boiling point) of which at normal pressure is less than or equal to 35°C (risk phrase R12, first indent); and

(ii) gases which are flammable in contact with air at ambient temperature and pressure (risk phrase R12, second indent), which are in a gaseous or supercritical state; and

(iii) flammable and highly flammable liquid substances and preparations maintained at a temperature above their boiling point.

(1)

S.R. 2009 No.238

(2)

1985 c.48

(3)

O.J. No.L.319, 12.12.1994, p.7. Directive as last amended by Commission Directive 2003/28/EC O.J No. L90,8.4.2003, p.45