Technical Safety BC following up with ammonia facilities
Owners asked to confirm compliance with coolant testing and reporting requirements
NEW WESTMINSTER, BC, Jan. 31, 2018 /CNW/ - Technical Safety BC has been working with the refrigeration industry to help prevent ammonia exposure. We've been regularly reaching out to ammonia facilities to raise awareness about the dangers and prevention of accidental ammonia release incidents. The intent of our actions is focused on incident prevention and reducing safety risks.
As part of this effort, Technical Safety BC issued a safety order on November 29 that outlined requirements for all public occupancy ammonia refrigeration plants to have their brine solution tested for the presence of ammonia. Owners of these facilities had until December 31, 2017 to comply with the safety order and were required to submit their test results to Technical Safety BC within five days of receiving the results. This safety order was issued to promote safety with refrigeration equipment containing ammonia by raising awareness of any potential safety concerns.
We are currently in the process of following up with facilities who have not yet complied with the new coolant testing and reporting requirements. Enforcement actions are one of the tools we can use when working with industry to reduce safety risks. The Safety Standards Act empowers Technical Safety BC to take several enforcement actions if we discover safety issues, regulatory non-compliances, or find that any technical systems or equipment might pose a risk to workers or the public. Technical Safety BC will be providing non-compliant facilities with an additional 30 days to come into compliance, before facing potential monetary penalties.
More information about ammonia safety is available on our website.
If you have any questions about ammonia safety or Technical Safety BC's work with industry on incident prevention, please feel free to contact us at [email protected].
About Technical Safety BC
Technical Safety BC, formerly BC Safety Authority, is an independent, self-funded organization mandated to oversee the safe installation and operation of technical systems and equipment. In addition to issuing permits, licences and certificates, it works with industry to reduce safety risks through assessment, education and outreach, enforcement, and research.
SOURCE Technical Safety BC
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