Law 21/1992, of July 16, of Industry, establishes in Article 12 (5) that the State-wide security regulations will be approved by the Government of the Nation, without prejudice to the autonomous communities with Legislative powers on industry may introduce additional requirements on the same matters in the case of installations located on their territory.

Royal Decree 379/2001 of 6 April approved the Regulation on the storage of chemicals and their accompanying technical instructions MIE APQ-1, MIE APQ-2, MIE APQ-3, MIE APQ-4, MIE APQ-5, MIE APQ-6 and MIE APQ-7.

In order to lay down the technical safety requirements to which the fertiliser storage facility based on ammonium nitrate with high nitrogen content has to be adjusted, the MIE APQ-8 complementary technical instruction.

This royal decree has been subject to the procedure of information in the field of technical norms and regulations and regulations concerning the services of the information society, regulated in Royal Decree 1337/1999, For the purposes of implementing Directive 98 /34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998, as amended by Directive 98 /48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 July 1998

Directive 98 /34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 July 1998.

This royal decree is approved in the exercise of the powers that, in relation to the matter of industrial safety, have come to attribute expressly to the General Administration of the State the totality of the Autonomy, as has been repeatedly stated in the case law of the Constitutional Court (for all of them, the Sentences of the Constitutional Court 203/1992, of 26 November; 243/1994, of 21 July, and 175/2003, of 30 September).

In its virtue, on the proposal of the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Trade, in agreement with the Council of State and after deliberation of the Council of Ministers at its meeting of 8 October 2004,

DISPONGO:

Single item. Approval of complementary technical instruction MIE APQ-8.

Complementary Technical Instruction (ITC) MIE APQ-8 \ "Fertilizer storage based on ammonium nitrate with high nitrogen content \" is approved by Royal Decree 379/2001 of 6 April, approving the Chemicals Storage Regulation and its accompanying Technical Instructions MIE APQ-1, MIE APQ-2, MIE APQ-3, MIE APQ-4, MIE APQ-5, MIE APQ-6 and MIE APQ-7, which is inserted below.

First transient disposition. Existing installations.

The fertilizers of fertilizers based on ammonium nitrate with high nitrogen content, existing before the date of entry into force of this royal decree or that were in the process of registration in the said date, shall be adapted to the requirements of the MIE APQ-8 JTI within the maximum period of five years from the date of entry into force.

To this end, within six months, counted from the entry into force of this royal decree, a project will be presented to the competent organ of the corresponding autonomous community, which will consist of the modifications that are to be performed to match the facilities to that ITC.

Once the adaptation works have been completed, within the aforementioned five-year period, this circumstance will be justified to the competent organ of the autonomous community by means of the corresponding certification, which must be Note that the works were carried out according to the project presented, and/or the variations that, in relation to those, have been introduced.

Second transient disposition. Existing storage that cannot meet the requirements set forth in the ITC.

By way of derogation from the first transitional provision, all fertiliser storage facilities based on ammonium nitrate with high nitrogen content in existence or in the process of being registered on the date of the entry into force of this royal decree, in which it is shown that they are unable to comply with any of the requirements laid down in the ITC, they shall submit to their authorization a project signed by a technician entitled and endorsed by the a corresponding official college, in which the reasons for such an impossibility are justified and in which specify the replacement measures to be taken, taking into account the risk presented by current facilities for persons, property and the environment.

In addition to the said project, a certificate issued by an approved inspection body for the application of the Regulation on the storage of chemical products shall be submitted together with the application. the measures taken have a level of safety equivalent to or greater than those they replace.

The documentation referred to shall be submitted to the competent authority of the autonomous community where the storage is to be provided within six months from the date of entry into force of this royal decree.

Final disposition first. Competence title.

This royal decree constitutes a regulatory standard of industrial security, which is dictated by the provisions of Article 149.1.13.^a of the Constitution.

Final disposition second. Regulatory enablement.

The government will urgently proceed to approve a complementary technical instruction on the storage of fertilizers with a nitrogen content of less than 28 percent by mass.

Final disposition third. Entry into force.

This royal decree will enter into force three months after its publication in the "Official Gazette of the State".

Given in Madrid, 11 October 2004.

JOHN CARLOS R.

The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Trade,

JOSE MONTILLA AGUILERA

SUPPLEMENTARY TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION WED-APQ 8 "STORAGE OF FERTILIZERS BASED ON AMMONIUM NITRATE WITH HIGH NITROGEN CONTENT"

CHAPTER I

Generalities

Article 1. Object.

This complementary technical instruction (JTI) is intended to establish the technical prescriptions to which solid fertilizer stores are to be adjusted based on high-content ammonium nitrate nitrogen.

Article 2. Application field.

This ITC shall apply to the storage, handling, loading and unloading of solid ammonium nitrate-based fertilizers of high nitrogen content, with the exception of the following:

a) The storage units integrated into the processing units, the capacity of which will be limited to the capacity required for process continuity.

(b) Storage capacity not exceeding 50 tonnes in bulk or 200 tonnes packed. Only Articles 8, 9, 10 and 11 of this ITC shall apply to such storage.

c) Non-persistent, in-transit, or in-transit expectation.

d) The storage for its own use, with the fertilizer packaged, with a capacity not exceeding 5 t.

Article 3. Definitions.

For the purposes of this ITC, the following definitions apply:

(a) Storage: it is the assembly of enclosures and buildings of all kinds containing fertilizers based on high nitrogen ammonium nitrate, and includes, in addition, the intermediate streets of circulation and separation, the areas and facilities for loading and unloading and other necessary installations, provided they are exclusive to the assembly.

(b) Storage in transit: sporadic storage of products waiting to be redispatched and the intended storage period not exceeding 72 continuous hours. However, if the warehouse existed for more than eight days per month or 36 days per year, it shall not be considered as transit storage.

c) Area of facilities: area bounded by the perimeter of the installation concerned.

(d) Packaging and GRG (large bulk containers): definitions according to Chapter 1.2 and the requirements of Chapters 6.1, 6.6 and 6.5 respectively of the ADR (European Agreement on the International Carriage of Goods dangerous by road) -2003, and established in the specific regulation of fertilizers.

e) Fertilizer based on ammonium nitrate with a high nitrogen content: any product based on ammonium nitrate manufactured to be used as a fertilizer having a nitrogen content of more than 28% by mass Ammonium nitrate or, which is the same, containing more than 80 percent ammonium nitrate.

(f) Own Inspector: the competent technical staff designated by the user, with experience in the inspection of storage facilities and handling of ammonium nitrate based fertilizer with high content in nitrogen.

g) Periodic review: any review or subsequent test of the putting into service of the appliances or equipment, carried out by the inspector or inspection body.

h) Processing unit: is the set of production elements and installations; includes process equipment and containers required for process continuity, located within the battery limits of the process.

i) Public communication paths: are the roads and railway lines of public use.

Article 4. Storage installation project.

The project of the storage facility in non-industrial buildings or establishments will be developed either as part of the general project of the building or establishment, or in a specific project. In the latter case it shall be drawn up and signed by a technician entitled who, when different from the author of the general project, must act in coordination with the general project and comply with the basic aspects of the installation reflected in the general project of the building or establishment.

The project referred to in the Chemicals Storage Regulation will be made up of the following documents:

(a) Technical memory in which the following paragraphs are at least:

1. Storage, describing its capabilities, dimensions and other characteristics, stored products, predicted maximum temperatures, as well as the standard or design code used.

2. Systems, equipment and fire protection means, defining the standards of sizing that are applicable in each case and making the calculations or determinations on them required.

3. Other security features, describing their characteristics and, where appropriate, protection of materials against corrosion.

4. Maintenance and handling elements: their characteristics and size.

5. ° Geographical and topographical aspects of the environment, with special impact on those natural accidents that may present risks of soil detachment or water drag; protection measures shall be indicated. provided in such cases.

6. Justification of compliance with this ITC or the proposed replacement measures.

7. Public Safety Protection Plan.

This plan shall contain an analysis of the location of the facility, in its case any risks and threats, and, if appropriate, the security measures that may arise, including, where appropriate, the establishment of a security guard service.

The plan, which, in any case, will have to keep the appropriate proportion between the risks and the measures to prevent them, must be approved by the Directorate General of the Civil Guard.

b) Planes:

1. Geographical map at 1:25,000 scale, in which the storage and communication routes, urban nuclei and relevant topographic accidents, existing within a circle of 10 km of radius with center in said storage.

2. The overall Plano of the set, which will indicate the security distances.

c) Budget.

d) Instructions for the use, conservation and security of the facility as regards persons, work equipment and the environment.

e) Facility maintenance and review plan.

f) Interior Emergency Plan.

In cases of extension, modification or transfer, the project will refer to the extended, modified or moved and to which, as a consequence, it will be affected.

CHAPTER II

Sites and distances

Article 5. Sites.

The proximity to public communication routes will be taken into account, and appropriate protection barriers will be built, if necessary, for the case of road or road vehicle exits.

Mobile security services should be able to access storage from two opposing points, preferably according to the direction of prevailing winds. There shall be sufficient access and space for the movement and manoeuvring of the maintenance machinery.

The storage area and its surroundings must be free of combustible materials, such as residues, fats, woods or weeds.

Article 6. Distances.

Table 1 shows the minimum distances, expressed in metres, required between solid fertiliser storage facilities based on ammonium nitrate with high nitrogen content and the different places and facilities indicated. The distance shall be measured, in a straight line, between the nearest points of the place or installation concerned and the vertical projection on the ground of the warehouse concerned.

The distances indicated in Table 1 shall be multiplied by the factor 'f' as shown in Table 2 and which regulates the minimum distances required according to the storage capacity.

TABLE 1

Distance in meters

communication paths: 80.

Place of concentration of industry's own personnel: 20.

Housing and housing pool: 200.

concurrency local: 300.

TABLE 2

Capacity (t)	Factor "f"
50 and    200	0.5
Between 201 and 600	0.6
0.7
0.7
0,001 and 4,000	0.9	0.9
Greater than 4,000	1

Note: independent installations, for the purposes of the overall storage capacity, are considered to be those that distinguish between more than the resulting distance from applying to the established distance, for communication paths in Table 1, the corresponding coefficient in Table 2.

CHAPTER III

Civil work

Article 7. Rules on the design and construction of the storage.

1. These stores will comply with the existing legislation on fire safety in industrial establishments.

2. Buildings intended to store such fertilizers shall be designed from a single plant, without basements or cellars, except those necessary for the passage of the extraction tapes if they are underground.

The floor of the storerooms must be constructed preferably without tar joints or revocations. The construction of pits, drains or channels shall be avoided.

Warehouses shall be designed with appropriate thermal insulation so as to ensure that the temperature of the product does not exceed 32 ° C, the only way to avoid dust formation and the hazards involved.

The roof must have a lightweight structure and no wood or any other combustible material will be used.

Buildings intended for storage must have a lightning rod installation.

3. Permanent heating or electrical installations must be designed in such a way that the fertiliser can never come into contact with them. Your location should be taken into account when the warehouse is fully stocked. This affects radiators, water or steam pipes, as well as other sources of heat, whether or not they are intended to be isolated.

Light sources will always be cold and their components must be of non-combustible materials. The placement and protection of lamps should prevent dust accumulation.

The electrical installation will be carried out in accordance with the Electrotechnical Regulation of Low Voltage and in particular with its Supplementary Technical Instruction BT-029 " premises with a risk of fire or explosion. ' Mechanical elements intended for the movement of packaging shall be appropriate to the requirements arising from the characteristics of the stored product.

CHAPTER IV

Security measures

Article 8. Storage conditions.

Due to the risk of fire and decomposition of this product, the following guidelines are set out:

a) The dust generation must be reduced to the minimum possible.

(b) Not stored, together with combustible materials (gas-oil, oils, fats, woods, paper, etc.), reducing agents, acids, alkalis, sulphur, chlorates, chromates, nitrites, permanganates and metal powders or substances which contain metals such as copper, cobalt, nickel, zinc and their alloys.

It will also move away from heens, straws, grains, seeds, and organic matter in general.

(c) These fertilizers shall be stored in such a way as to avoid mixing with other types of fertilizers other than solid ammonium nitrate. For this purpose, and in case of bulk storage, the piles must be separated by solid walls or walls. In the case where this is not possible, the minimum distance between the base edges of the heaps shall be 8 m, provided that the fertilizers stored adjacent to the heaps are not ammonium nitrate, in which case the distance may be 5 m.

Maximum care will be taken to ensure that these fertilizers do not come into contact with urea or with fertilizers at risk of self-sustaining decomposition, under no circumstances.

d) The height of the product batteries, both packaged and in bulk, must be at least 1 m below the eaves, beams, lighting points and electrical installations.

e) Enseated product stacks should be sufficiently wide to facilitate access by three sides. The minimum width of the corridors shall be 2,5 m.

f) The use of bare portable lamps will not be permitted.

g) The use of any heat source shall be prohibited if it is not properly authorised, supervised and controlled. Smoking will always be prohibited.

h) The welding or cutting work shall be carried out on previously clean surfaces of nitrate remains and sufficiently isolated from it.

i) No water, sawdust or organic products shall be used to clean the floor of the warehouse.

j) Exposure to the solar light of the fertilizer is avoided even if it is packaged.

k) In no case shall the disposal of the stored product obstruct normal or emergency exits, nor shall it be an obstacle to access to equipment or areas intended for safety.

l) The storage shall be adequately ventilated to avoid exceeding the maximum permissible concentrations of dust in working conditions.

m) In enclosures for the storage of fertilizers based on high nitrogen ammonium nitrate, the handling of the product shall not be permitted except for the loading and unloading operations of that or power to the assembly facilities.

n) The owner of the installation shall have a certified or certified copy of the certificate, which ensures that the stored product has passed the test of detonability set out in Royal Decree 1427/2002 of 27 December, amending Royal Decree 2492/1983 of 29 June 1983 regulating the administrative intervention of the State in respect of ammonium nitrate of 'explosive grade', in order to exclude the possibility of such a product being of a degree explosive.

Article 9. Security installations.

1. In the case of storage and surroundings, standardised labels will be placed strategically announcing the existing danger, the prohibition of smoking and lighting fire and emergency exits, as established by Royal Decree 485/1997, of 14 April, on minimum requirements for safety and health signs at work.

2. In strategic locations, showers and washbasins will be installed as close as possible to workplaces, mainly in the areas of loading and unloading.

Article 10. Personal protective equipment.

Suitable gloves (e.g., rubber or PVC) will be used when handling the product for extended periods.

In the dust environment, masks will be used against inert powders (P 1).

After handling the product they will wash their hands and observe hygienic measures.

In case of fires or product decomposition, NOTOR filters, self-contained breathing equipment and protective clothing will be used. In cases of prolonged interventions to quell an incident, only self-contained suits will be used.

All personal protective equipment shall comply with the applicable regulations applicable to them.

Article 11. Staff training.

Storage staff, or any other related to it, will receive specific instructions from the storage holder on:

a) Properties and characteristics of high nitrogen ammonium nitrate.

b) Function and correct use of security and personal protective equipment and facilities.

c) Consequences of incorrect operation or use of security and personal protective equipment and facilities.

d) Hazards that can be derived from a fire or product decomposition.

A written record must be made that the staff has been properly informed and trained as to how much earlier it is indicated.

Article 12. Internal emergency plan.

1. The person responsible for each storage or set of storage within the same property shall draw up and implement an internal emergency plan in order to prevent accidents of any kind and, where appropriate, limit their consequences.

The plan will consider the emergencies that can occur, the precise way to control them by the storage staff, as well as the possible performance of external services to the establishment.

For its preparation and implementation, it will take into account, where appropriate, the application of Royal Decree 1254/1999 of 16 July 1999 approving measures to control the risks inherent in major accidents in which the Dangerous substances are involved.

2. The storage staff shall carry out at least two annual exercises of emergency practices, of which they shall be kept record of their performance, the result of those and the points of the emergency plan which may be improved or be modified in the light of the results obtained. The exercises shall be supervised by an inspector or inspection body, which shall be responsible for drawing up the report.

Article 13. Plan of revisions.

Regardless of what is set out in Article 4 of the Chemicals Storage Regulation, each storage will have a review plan of its own to check the availability and good status of the items. security installations and personal protective equipment.

The plan will comprise at least the annual periodic review of:

a) Fire water network.

b) Extintors, indicators, and alarms.

c) Duchas and wash eyes.

d) Personal protective equipment.

The checks will be carried out by the inspector or control body, and the corresponding certificate will be issued.