Manufacture and Storage of Explosives

The Explosives Environment. The Army Materiel Command (AMC), which has the primary responsiblity for manufacture and storage of explosives for the Department of Defense, clarified its definition of the type of hazardous location involved with explosives, propellants, and pyrotechnics in its most recently revised safety manual (4). When the only consideration for hazardous environment is the presence of explosive material, it recommends that the environment be classified as Class II, Group G, with the appropriate division based on the probability of the hazardous element being present in the environment. It further states that consideration must be given to vapors which might be present or to the presence of metallic dust. 

The Manufacture and Storage of Explosives Regulations (MSER) and Approved Codes of Practice (ACoP) were issued by the Health and Safety Commission, and came into effect on 26 April 2005, having largely replaced the Explosives Acts 1875 and 1923. 

It should also be noted that the Regulations apply to the manufacture and storage of explosives whether this is for work or non-work purposes. This means that they would apply to anyone storing explosives for personal recreational use, or to clubs or societies storing for firework displays or re-enactment events. 

The Manufacture and Storage of Explosives Regulations 2005 (Published by HSE Books Sudbury). 

There is currently a tendency to construct buildings for the manufacture and storage of explosives which could prevent the propagation of a shock wave and thus reduce the area of destruction. Such were heavy underground buildings for some time favoured in Germany (e.g. Vol. 11. p. 122, Figs 62, 63). 

The purpose of the architectural standard details is for use in the design and construction of facilities used in the manufacture, maintenance, inspection, and storage of explosive materials. To this end two objectives were sought. The requirements for this program were to develop standard details for various methods of construction utilized in Army ammunition plants today and to develop details... 

This is a system for the identification of hazards to life and health of people in the prevention and control of fires and explosions in the manufacture and storage of materials. 

A substantial amount of laboratory research involves materials considered, in the legal sense of the term, as explosives rather than simply chemicals which can explode under appropriate conditions. The term explosive in this relatively rrarrow sense is defined as any material determined to be within the scope of Title 18, United States Code, Chapter 40, Importation Manufacture, Distribution and Storage of Explosive Materials, and any material classified as an erqrlosive by the Department of Transportation in the Hazardous Material regulations (Title 49 CFR, Parts 100-199). A list of the materials that are within the scope of Title 18, United States Code, Chapter 40 is published periodically by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, U.S. Department of the Treasury. 

Due to the diversity of the products manufactured by its member companies, IME does not feel that any one shelf life standard can, or should be applied, to all explosive materials. In keeping with current practices, IME recommends Always store explosive materials so that corresponding grades, brands, sizes and Date-Plant-Shift codes are together and rotate stocks so the oldest material in the magazine is used first. Consult with the manufacturer to assure that accepted practices for the use and storage of explosive materials are being followed. ... 

Distances for storage of explosives Explosive and Toxic LLazard Materials page 370 (MeidI, 1970) Safe Handling Requirements during Explosive, Propellant and Pyrotechnic Manufacture (HSE, SIR 31)... 

Manufacture, Transportation, Storage, and Use of Explosive Materials, NFPA 495, National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA, 1985... 

The federal government is the only entity that can authorize the manufacture, sale, storage, and use of explosives. Therefore, it can issue administrative regulations requiring mandatory and random inspection of facilities as a licensing requirement. 

Anon, "Code for the Manufacture, Storage, Transportation and Use of Explosives and Blasting Agents , (NFPA No 495 1965) National Fire Protection Association, Boston Mass (1965) 45pp... 

Standards for Manufacture, Handling and Storage of Mass Detonating Explosives and Ammunition , DOD Directive 4145.17 49) D. Bodoroff. 

Such outstanding advantages of TNT, its low sensitiveness to impact and friction, safe handling, considerable safety in storage (because of the low reactivity of the compound), relative safety in manufacture and relatively high explosive power, have made TNT the most widely used of all high explosives since the beginning of the twentieth century up to the present time. 

A non-profit trade association representing leading U.S. producers of commercial explosive materials and dedicated to safety in the manufacture, transportation, storage, and use of explosive materials. 

Explosives. The munitions industry employs air conditioning to control uniformity in the manufacture and loading of various explosive mixtures, to control drying and moisture content, to minimize static discharges, to reduce the hazards of fire and explosion, to remove and neutralize toxic fumes, to remove and recover dust or solvents from manufacturing or loading processes, and to provide proper atmospheric conditions for the storage of raw materials or finished product (see Explosives). 

A genera] description of safety in the manufacture, handling and storage of Reactive Chemicals and mainly of explosives is described in a Japanese book (14). It contains chapters on ... 

The OSHA standard includes the manufacture, storage, transportation, and use of explosives, blasting agents, and pyrotechnics, with no threshold or minimum quantity. The ERA standard includes all Division 1.1 explosives, as listed and defined in the U.S. DOT regulations [36]. The threshold quantity is set at 5000 pounds, based on the potential to detonate and yield a blast wave overpressure of 3 psi (gauge) at a distance of 100 meters (-328 feet) [5]. It should be noted that many explosives are listed in 49 CFR 172.101 as forbidden rather than 1.1, and these materials include Type A peroxides and particularly ketone peroxides [36]. 

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