The Explosives Act 1875 etc. (Metrication and Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations 1984

Made: 3rd April 1984

Laid before Parliament: 16th April 1984

Coming into Operation: 8th May 1984

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 15(1) and (3)(a), 49(1) , (2) and (4) and 82(3)(a) of, and paragraphs 1(4), 3 and 4(1) of Schedule 3 to, the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974[^f00001] (“the 1974 Act”) and for the purpose of giving effect without modifications to proposals submitted to him by the Health and Safety Commission under section 11(2)(d) of the 1974 Act after the carrying out by the said Commission of consultations in accordance with section 50(3) of that Act, hereby makes the following Regulations:—

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1

• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Explosives Act 1875 etc. (Metrication and Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations 1984 and shall come into operation on 8th May 1984.

• (2) In these Regulations “the principal instruments” means —

• (a) the Explosives Act 1875,

• (b) the Order in Council (No. 16B) under the Explosives Act 1875, amending Order in Council of October 26 1896 (No. 16), relating to the keeping of Mixed Explosives on Registered Premises[^f00002] (“Order in Council No. 16B”),

• (c) the Packing of Explosive for Conveyance Rules 1949[^f00003],

• (d) the Ammonium Nitrate Mixtures Exemption Order 1967, and

• (e) the Orders in Council and orders specified in column 1 of Schedule 1 to these Regulations.

Amendments to the principal instruments

2

The provisions of the principal instruments specified in Schedule 1 to these Regulations in column 1 shall be amended by substituting for the measurements set out opposite thereto in column 3, the measurements set out in the corresponding entry in column 4.

Amendments to Order in Council No. 16B and to the Packing of Explosive for Conveyance Rules 1949

3

Wherever in either—

• (a) Articles (1) to (3) of Order in Council No. 16B which specify the maximum quantity of explosive allowed to be kept on premises registered for the keeping of mixed explosives; or

• (b) the Schedule to the Packing of Explosive for Conveyance Rules 1949 which specifies the methods of packing authorised explosives;

Additional amendments to Order of Secretary of State No. 11

4

The Order of the Secretary of State (No. 11), dated September 20 1924, making Byelaws as to the Conveyance of Explosives on Roads and in certain special cases[^f00004] shall be amended as follows—

• (a) in regulation (m) of byelaw 4 (which provides for approval by the Secretary of State of conditions for the conveyance of explosive in certain carriages and boats) by substituting for the words “the Secretary of State” the words “the Health and Safety Executive”;

• (b) in regulation (p) of byelaw 4 by substituting for the measurement “8,000 lbs.” [^f00005] (which measurement is the maximum amount of explosive to be conveyed in an enclosed carriage otherwise than on a private railway) the measurement “5 tonnes.”

Amendments to the Ammonium Nitrate Mixtures Exemption Order 1967

5

Article 2 of the Ammonium Nitrate Mixtures Exemption Order 1967 (which article describes a test by which an explosive is to be a prescribed explosive for the purposes of section 50 of the Explosives Act 1875) shall be amended by substituting for the measurements—

• (a) “12 inches (304.8 millimetres)” the measurement “300 millimetres”;

• (b) “3 inches (76.2 millimetres)” the measurement “75 millimetres”;

• (c) “one gramme” the measurement “1 gram”.

Application to premises and plant in existence or under construction

6

Where any premises or plant in existence or under construction immediately before the coming into operation of these Regulations complied with the requirements of the principal instruments as then in force, those premises or that plant shall be deemed to comply with the principal instruments as amended by these Regulations.

Revocation

7

The Explosives (Conveyance) (Private Railways) Byelaws 1960 are hereby revoked.

SCHEDULE 1 — AMENDMENTS TO PROVISIONS

SCHEDULE 2 — TABLE OF METRIC EQUIVALENTS FOR AMENDING ORDER IN COUNCIL NO. 16B[^f00028] AND THE PACKING OF EXPLOSIVE FOR CONVEYANCE RULES 1949[^f00029]

Signed

Signed by order of the Secretary of State.

John Selwyn Gummer — Minister of State — Department of Employment — 3rd April 1984

Explanatory note

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations amend the Explosives Act 1875 and various Orders in Council, orders and rules made thereunder or otherwise relating to explosives, by substituting measurements expressed in metric units for measurements not so expressed. The measurements thus substituted preserve the effect of the original provisions except to the extent necessary to obtain amounts expressed in convenient and suitable terms. (Regulations 2 and 3.)

Order of Secretary of State No. 11 is amended so as to provide for the approval by the Health and Safety Executive (rather than the Secretary of State as previously) of conditions for the conveyance of explosive in certain carriages and boats and so as to increase the maximum amount of explosive that may be conveyed in an enclosed carriage, otherwise than on a private railway, from 8,000 lbs. to 5 tonnes. (Regulation 4.)

Article 2 of the Ammonium Nitrate Mixtures Exemption Order 1967, relating to a test for prescribed explosives, is modified so that imperial units are omitted and the metric equivalents are expressed in more convenient terms. (Regulation 5.)

Regulation 6 provides that premises or plant in existence or under construction immediately before the coming into operation of these Regulations which complied with the then existing statutory requirements shall be deemed to comply with such statutory requirements as amended by these Regulations.

The Explosives (Conveyance) (Private Railways) Byelaws 1960 are revoked by Regulation 7.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: sections 15 and 49 were amended by the Employment Protection Act 1975 (c. 71), Schedule 15, paragraphs 6 and 15 respectively.

[^f00002]: S.R. & O. 1912/1861, amending S.R. & O. 1896/964.

[^f00003]: , to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.

[^f00004]: S.R. & O. 1924/1129 ; the relevant amending instrument is S.I. 1958/230.

[^f00005]: Amount substituted by S.I. 1958/230.

[^f00006]: 5th August 1875 (Rev. VII, p. 1); the relevant amending instrument is Order in Council (No. 1A) dated December 12th 1891, S.R. & O. 1891 p. 277.

[^f00007]: 27th November 1875 (Rev. VII, p. 10); the relevant amending instrument is S.I. 1951/1164.

[^f00008]: Amount substituted by S.I. 1951/1164.

[^f00009]: 27th November 1875 (Rev. VII, p. 14), to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.

[^f00010]: 27th November 1875 (Rev. VII, p. 26), the relevant amending instrument is S.I. 1951/1163.

[^f00011]: Amount substituted by S.I. 1951/1163.

[^f00012]: Amount substituted by S.I. 1951/1163.

[^f00013]: 27th November 1875 (Rev. VII, p. 39).

[^f00014]: 27th November 1875 (Rev. VII, p. 42).

[^f00015]: 20th April 1883 (Rev. VII, p. 43), to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.

[^f00016]: S.R.&O. 1896/964, to which there are amendments not relevant to this Schedule.

[^f00017]: S.R.&O. 1906/380 .

[^f00018]: S.R.&O. 1926/823 .

[^f00019]: to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.

[^f00020]: S.R.&O. 1937/54; the relevant amending instrument is S.R.&O. 1947/805.

[^f00021]: S.R.&O. 1898/248.

[^f00022]: S.R.&O. 1905/1128.

[^f00023]: S.R.&O. 1919/809, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.

[^f00024]: S.R.&O. 1924/1129; relevant amending instruments are S.R.&O. 1943/1252 and S.I. 1960/1347.

[^f00025]: Byelaw substituted by S.R.&O. 1943/1252.

[^f00026]: Amount substituted by S.I. 1960/1347.

[^f00027]: , to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.

[^f00028]: S.R.&O. 1912/1861, amending S.R.&O. 1896/964.

[^f00029]: S.I. 1949/798, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.