Integrated document No. 41/VBHN-BCT dated March 30, 2020 Circular on promulgating National technical regulation on ammonium nitrate for producing emulsion explosives

CIRCULAR

PROMULGATING NATIONAL TECHNICAL REGULATION ON AMMONIUM NITRATE FOR PRODUCING EMULSION EXPLOSIVES

The Circular No. 17/2015/TT-BCT dated June 22, 2015 of the Minister of Industry and Trade promulgating National technical regulation on ammonium nitrate for producing emulsion explosives, which has been effective since December 22, 2015, is amended by:

The Circular No. 42/2019/TT-BCT dated December 18, 2019 of the Minister of Industry and Trade on amendments to some regulations on periodic reporting specified in Circulars promulgated by the Minister of Industry and Trade or jointly promulgated by Ministries, which has been effective since February 05, 2020.

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 95/2012/ND-CP dated November 12, 2012 defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

Pursuant to the Law on Standards and Technical Regulations dated June 29, 2006;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 127/2007/ND-CP dated August 01, 2007 on elaboration of some Articles of the Law on Standards and Technical Regulations;

At the request of the Director General of the Department of Science and Technology,[1]

Article 1. Promulgated together with this Circular is the “National technical regulation on ammonium nitrate for producing emulsion explosives”.

Code: QCVN 05 : 2015/BCT.

Article 2. Effect[2]

This Circular comes into force from December 22, 2015.

Article 3. Responsibility for implementation

1. Related organizations and individuals are responsible for the implementation of this Circular.

2. Difficulties that arise from the implementation of this Circular should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for consideration and resolution./.

QCVN 05: 2015/BCT

NATIONAL TECHNICAL REGULATION ON AMMONIUM NITRATE FOR PRODUCING EMULSION EXPLOSIVES

Foreword

QCVN 05 : 2015/BCT is developed by the Drafting Board for National technical regulations on industrial explosive materials, submitted by the Department of Science and Technology affiliated to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for approval, appraised by the Ministry of Science and Technology and promulgated by the Ministry of Industry and Trade together with the Circular No. 17/2015/TT-BCT dated June 22, 2015.

NATIONAL TECHNICAL REGULATION ON AMMONIUM NITRATE FOR PRODUCING EMULSION EXPLOSIVES

1. General provisions

Scope

This technical regulation provides for technical requirements, test methods and regulations on management of ammonium nitrate for producing emulsion explosives which is domestically produced, imported, exported, circulated on the market and in use.

1.2. Regulated entities

This technical regulation applies to organizations and individuals whose activities involve ammonium nitrate for producing emulsion explosives within the territory of Vietnam unless otherwise prescribed by treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory.

1.3. Definitions

1.3.1. “batch” means a quantity of a product of satisfactory quality which is produced during a shift or within a time frame or in a given period of time, from the same source of raw materials with similar specifications.

1.3.2. “import shipment” means a collection of a type of goods identified in terms of quantity having the same name, uses, brand, type and technical specifications which belongs to the same manufacturing establishment and the same import record.

1.3.3. “ammonium nitrate” means a compound with the chemical formula NH4NO3 which does not contain leavening agents and anti-caking agents. NH4NO3 is produced and circulated in the form of granulated or ungranulated crystals.

1.3.4. “pH” of a solution means a measure of the hydrogen ion (H+) concentration of that solution, which is the indicator of acidity or alkalinity of the solution.

1.4. Normative references

1.4.1. QCVN 02 : 2008/BCT National technical regulation on safety in the storage, transportation, use and disposal of industrial explosive materials.

1.4.2. QCVN 01 : 2012/BCT National technical regulation on safety in the process of producing, testing and performing check and acceptance of industrial explosive materials.

1.4.3. QCVN 03 : 2012/BCT National technical regulation on ammonium nitrate for producing ANFO explosive.

1.5. Regulations on product batches and test samples

1.5.1. Regarding product batches: quantity of a product batch shall be specified by the manufacturer.

1.5.2. Regarding quantity of products sampled for periodic inspection at laboratories designated by the Ministry of Industry and Trade: for imported (or exported) ammonium nitrate, its importer or exporter shall conduct an inspection of quality of each import (or export) shipment as prescribed in the Circular No. 48/2011/TT-BCT dated December 30, 2011 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. For domestically produced ammonium nitrate, the sample size for periodic inspection is 3,000 tonnes.

1.5.3. Periodic test samples are those taken at random from batches.

2. Technical requirements

2.1. Technical specifications

Ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) for producing emulsion explosives shall not exceed the limits mentioned in Table 1.

Table 1 - Technical specifications for ammonium nitrate for producing emulsion explosives

2.2. Packaging, labeling, storage and transport

2.2.1. Packaging

Ammonium nitrate is packaged in a bag having a water-proof polythene inner and a woven polypropylene outer. Weight of each bag shall be specified by the manufacturer, normally 25 kg/bag, 40 kg/bag or 50 kg/bag.

2.2.2. Labeling

Package labeling shall comply with the regulations set out in the Appendix A of QCVN 02 : 2008/BCT and Government's Decree No. 89/2006/ND-CP dated August 30, 2006 on goods labels.

2.2.3. Transport and storage

2.2.3.1. Transport: comply with the regulations enshrined in Sections 1 and 2 Chapter II of QCVN 02 : 2008/BCT.

2.2.3.2. Storage: comply with NFPA 490 - Code for the Storage of Ammonium Nitrate, 2002 edition of the U.S. National Fire Protection Association. To be specific:

- The wall on the exposed side of an ammonium nitrate storage building within 15.2 m shall be maintained free from grass and weeds, dry plants or combustible substances.

- All flooring in storage areas shall be of noncombustible material or shall be protected against impregnation by ammonium nitrate to prevent accumulation of the ammonium nitrate solution when ammonium nitrate absorbs moisture.

- When storing ammonium nitrate in bags or containers, it is required to make sure that:

+ Containers of ammonium nitrate shall not be accepted for storage when the temperature of ammonium nitrate exceeds 54.4 °C.

+ Bags of ammonium nitrate shall not be stored within 762 mm of the walls and partitions of the storage building.

+ The height of piles shall not exceed 6.1 m; the width of piles shall not exceed 6.1 m; the length of piles shall not exceed 15.2 m.

- In no case shall the ammonium nitrate be stacked closer than 0.9 m below the roof or supporting and spreader beams overhead.

- Aisles shall be provided to separate piles by a clear space of not less than 0.9 in width. At least one main aisle in the storage area shall be not less than 1.2 m in width.

- For storage of bulk ammonium nitrate:

+ Warehouses shall be either naturally or mechanically ventilated.

+ Bulk storage structures shall not exceed a height of 12.2 m.

+ Ammonium nitrate may be stored in piles or in bins made of materials other than galvanized iron, copper, lead, zinc; the ammonium nitrate storage bins or piles must be closer than 0.9 m below the roof or supporting and spreader beams overhead.

- A warehouse containing 2268 tonnes of ammonium nitrate must be equipped with an automatic sprinkler system.

2.3. Regulations on equipment used for analysis

Equipment serving test methods must be inspected as prescribed in the Circular No. 23/2013/TT-BKHCN dated September 26, 2013 of the Ministry of Science and Technology on measuring instruments and relevant prevailing regulations.

3. Test method

3.1. Determination of purity by titrimetric method

Under 3.4 of QCVN 03 : 2012/BCT.

3.2. Determination of moisture

Under 3.1 of QCVN 03 : 2012/BCT.

3.3. Determination of water-insoluble residue

Under 3.6 of QCVN 03 : 2012/BCT.

3.4. Determination of pH value

Under 3.7 of QCVN 03 : 2012/BCT.

3.5. Determination of bulk density

Under 3.2 of QCVN 03 : 2012/BCT.

4. Management regulations

4.1. Producers of ammonium nitrate for producing emulsion explosives shall declare and certify conformity in accordance with this Regulation. Importers shall certify conformity as prescribed. The labeling shall comply with 2.2.2 of this Regulation.

4.2. Assessment of conformity of ammonium nitrate shall be carried out using method 7: Testing and assessment of a shipment/batch of products/goods specified in Section VII Appendix 2 of the Circular No. 28/2012/TT-BKHCN dated December 12, 2012 of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

4.3. Declaration of conformity and designation of certification bodies and testing bodies of ammonium nitrate shall comply with the regulations laid down in Section II Chapter II of the Circular No. 48/2011/TT-BCT dated December 30, 2011 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

4.4. When circulated on the market, ammonium nitrate for producing emulsion explosives shall bear conformity marks as prescribed in the Circular No. 28/2012/TT-BKHCN dated December 12, 2012 of the Ministry of Science and Technology and applicable law on quality of products and goods.

4.5. Inspection methods

Ammonium nitrate for producing emulsion explosives which is domestically produced, imported, exported and circulated on the market and in use shall be subject to inspection of its quality as prescribed in the Circular No. 48/2011/TT-BCT dated December 30, 2011 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and applicable law on quality of products and goods.

4.6. For domestically produced ammonium nitrate, its quality shall undergo periodic inspection as prescribed. Inspection of quality of imports and exports and periodic quality inspection shall be carried out at laboratories designated by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

4.7. In case of suspicion of quality of ammonium nitrate, before putting it into use, its quality shall be inspected in accordance with the regulations set out in Table 1 of this Regulation at the testing laboratories designated by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

5. Implementation

5.1. The Department of Science and Technology shall preside over and cooperate with the Industrial Safety Techniques and Environment Agency and units concerned shall provide guidance on and inspect the implementation of this Regulation.

5.2. The Vietnam Directorate of Market Surveillance shall organize and direct Market Surveillance Sub-departments of provinces and central-affiliated cities to inspect, control and impose penalties for violations against regulations on quality of products and goods circulated on the market in accordance with regulations of law and this Regulation.

5.3. [3](abrogated).

5.4. If any of the legislative documents, documents and standards referred to in this Regulation is changed, supplemented or replaced, the newest ones shall apply./.

The Government’s Decree No. 98/2017/ND-CP dated August 18, 2017 defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

The Government’s Decree No. 09/2019/ND-CP dated January 24, 2019 on reporting regimes applicable to state administrative agencies;

At the request of the Chief of the Ministry Office.”

 “Article 37. Effect

1. This Circular comes into force from February 05, 2020.

2. The following regulations are abrogated:

a) Clause 6 Article 1 of the Circular No. 33/2016/TT-BCT dated December 23, 2016 of the Minister of Industry and Trade.

b) Article 4 of the Circular No. 51/2018/TT-BCT dated December 19, 2018 of the Minister of Industry and Trade.

c) Clause 20 Article 1 of the Circular No. 31/2018/TT-BCT dated October 05, 2018 of the Minister of Industry and Trade.

d) Article 29 of the Circular No. 43/2013/TT-BCT dated December 31, 2013 of the Minister of Industry and Trade.

3. Periodic reports of industry and trade authorities shall cover the periods specified in Article 12 of the Decree No. 09/2019/ND-CP.

4. Difficulties that arise during the implementation of this Circular should be reported to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for instructions and resolution./.”