Oil and Gas Occupational Safety and Health Regulations (SOR/87-612)

11.4 On completion of the investigation referred to in subsection 11.3(1) and after consultation with the safety and health committee or the safety and health representative, if either exists, the qualified person shall set out in a written report signed by the qualified person

• (a) his observations respecting the criteria considered in accordance with subsection 11.3(2); and

• (b) his recommendations respecting the manner of compliance with sections 11.6 to 11.28.

11.5 The report referred to in section 11.4 shall be kept by the employer at the work place to which it applies for one year after the date on which the qualified person signed the report.

Substitution of Substances

• 11.6 (1) A hazardous substance shall not be used for any purpose in a work place if it is reasonably practicable to substitute therefor a substance that is not a hazardous substance.

• (2) Where a hazardous substance is required to be used for any purpose in a work place and an equivalent substance that is less hazardous is available to be used for that purpose, the equivalent substance shall be substituted for the hazardous substance where reasonably practicable.

Ventilation

11.7 Every ventilation system used to control the concentration of an airborne hazardous substance shall be so designed, constructed and installed that

• (a) if the substance is a chemical agent, the concentration of the chemical agent does not exceed the limits prescribed in sections 11.23 and 11.24; and

• (b) if the substance is not a chemical agent, the concentration of the substance is not hazardous to the safety or health of employees.

Air Pressure

• 11.8 (1) Subject to subsection (2), where there is a likelihood that explosive or toxic vapours may enter an enclosed work place or field accommodation, the air pressure in the work place or field accommodation shall, where practicable, be maintained positive in relation to the air pressure in the surrounding area.

• (2) Where there is a source of explosive or toxic vapours at a work place, the air pressure in the area of the source shall be maintained negative with respect to any adjacent enclosed area.

Warnings

11.9 Where reasonably practicable, automated warning and detection systems shall be provided by the employer where the seriousness of any exposure to a hazardous substance so requires.

Storage, Handling and Use

11.10 Every hazardous substance stored, handled or used in a work place shall be stored, handled and used in a manner whereby the hazard related to that substance is reduced to a minimum.

11.11 Subject to section 11.14, where a hazardous substance is stored, handled or used in a work place, any hazard resulting from that storage, handling or use shall be confined to as small an area as practicable.

• 11.12 (1) Every container for a hazardous substance that is used in a work place shall be so designed and constructed that it protects the employees from any safety or health hazard that is created by the hazardous substance.

• (2) Where a container referred to in subsection (1) is emptied and is not to be refilled with the hazardous substance, it shall be completely cleaned of the hazardous substance that was stored in it before being reused and the label identifying the hazardous substance shall be removed.

11.13 The quantity of a hazardous substance used or processed in a work place shall, as far as is practicable, be kept to a minimum.

11.14 Where a hazardous substance is capable of combining with another substance to form an ignitable combination and a hazard of ignition of the combination by static electricity exists, the standards set out in the United States National Fire Prevention Association Inc. publication NFPA 77-1983, Recommended Practice on Static Electricity, dated 1983, shall be adopted and implemented.

Warning of Hazardous Substances

• 11.15 (1) Where a hazardous substance is stored in a work place, signs shall be posted in conspicuous places warning of the presence of the hazardous substance.

• (2) Hazard information in respect of hazardous substances that are, or are likely to be, present in a work place shall be readily available for examination by employees in any form, as determined in consultation with the policy committee or, if there is no policy committee, the safety and health committee or the safety and health representative.

11.16 and 11.17 [Repealed, SOR/88-199, s. 8]

Assembly of Pipes

11.18 Every assembly of pipes, pipe fittings, valves, safety devices, pumps, compressors and other fixed equipment that is used for transferring a hazardous substance from one location to another shall be

• (a) marked, by labelling, colour-coding, placarding or any other mode, to identify the hazardous substance being transferred and, if appropriate, the direction of the flow;

• (b) fitted with valves and other control and safety devices to ensure its safe operation;

• (c) inspected by a qualified person before it is placed in service and once a year thereafter; and

• (d) maintained and repaired by a qualified person.

Employee Education and Training

• 11.19 (1) Every employer shall, in consultation with the policy committee or, if there is no policy committee, the safety and health committee or the safety and health representative, develop and implement an employee education and training program with respect to hazard prevention and control at the work place.

• (2) The employee education and training program shall include

  • (a) the education and training of each employee who handles or is exposed to or who is likely to handle or be exposed to a hazardous substance, with respect to

    • (i) the product identifier of the hazardous substance,

    • (ii) all hazard information disclosed by the supplier or by the employer on a safety data sheet or label,

    • (iii) all hazard information of which the employer is aware or ought to be aware,

    • (iv) the observations referred to in paragraph 11.4(a),

    • (v) the information disclosed on a safety data sheet referred to in section 11.30 and the purpose and significance of that information,

    • (vi) in respect of hazardous products in the work place, the information required to be disclosed on a safety data sheet and on a label under Division III and the purpose and significance of that information, and

    • (vii) the hazard information referred to in subsection 11.15(2);

  • (b) the education and training of each employee who operates, maintains or repairs an assembly of pipes referred to in section 11.18, with respect to

    • (i) every valve and other control and safety device connected to the assembly of pipes,

    • (ii) the procedures to follow for the proper and safe use of the assembly of pipes, and

    • (iii) the significance of the labelling, colour-coding, placarding or other modes of identification that are used;

  • (c) the education and training of each employee who is referred to in paragraph (a) or (b), with respect to

    • (i) the procedures to follow to implement sections 11.10, 11.11 and 11.14,

    • (ii) the procedures to follow for the safe storage, handling, use and disposal of hazardous substances, including procedures to be followed in an emergency involving a hazardous substance, and

    • (iii) the procedures to follow if an employee is exposed to fugitive emissions as defined in section 11.31; and

  • (d) the education and training of each employee on the procedures to follow to access electronic or paper versions of reports, records of education and training given and safety data sheets.

• (3) Every employer shall, in consultation with the policy committee or, if there is no policy committee, the safety and health committee or the safety and health representative, review and, if necessary, revise the employee education and training program

  • (a) at least once a year;

  • (b) whenever there is a change in conditions in respect of the presence of hazardous substances in the work place; and

  • (c) whenever new hazard information in respect of a hazardous substance in the work place becomes available to the employer.

11.20 The employer shall keep a written record of the employee education and training program referred to in subsection 11.19(1) readily available for examination by employees in any form, as determined in consultation with the policy committee or, if there is no policy committee, the safety and health committee or the safety and health representative, for as long as the employees

• (a) handle or are exposed to or are likely to handle or be exposed to the hazardous substance; or

• (b) operate, maintain or repair the assembly of pipes.

11.21 [Repealed, SOR/88-199, s. 10]

Medical Examinations

• 11.22 (1) Where the report referred to in section 11.4 contains a recommendation for a medical examination, the employer may, regarding that recommendation, consult a physician who has specialized knowledge in respect of the hazardous substance in the work place.

• (2) Where the employer

  • (a) consults a physician pursuant to subsection (1) and the physician confirms the recommendation for a medical examination, or

  • (b) does not consult a physician pursuant to subsection (1),

  the employer shall not permit an employee to work with the hazardous substance in the work place until a physician, who has the specialized knowledge referred to in subsection (1) and is acceptable to the employee, has examined the employee and declared the employee fit for work with the hazardous substance.

• (3) Where an employer consults a physician pursuant to subsection (1), the employer shall keep a copy of the decision of the physician with the report referred to in section 11.4.

• (4) The cost of a medical examination referred to in subsection (2) shall be borne by the employer.

Control of Hazards

• 11.23 (1) No employee shall be exposed to a concentration of

  • (a) an airborne chemical agent, other than grain dust or airborne asbestos fibres, in excess of the value for that chemical agent adopted by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists in its publication entitled Threshold Limit Values (TLVs) and Biological Exposure Indices (BEIs), as amended from time to time;

  • (b) airborne grain dust, respirable and non-respirable, in excess of 10 mg/m³; or

  • (c) an airborne hazardous substance, other than a chemical agent, that is hazardous to the safety and health of the employee.

• (1.1) An employer shall ensure that an employee’s exposure to a concentration of airborne asbestos fibres is as close to zero as is reasonably practicable, but in any event the employer shall ensure that the concentration is not in excess of the value for airborne asbestos fibres adopted by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists in its publication entitled Threshold Limit Values (TLVs) and Biological Exposure Indices (BEIs), as amended from time to time.

• (2) If there is a likelihood that the concentration of an airborne chemical agent may exceed any value referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or (b), the concentration of airborne asbestos fibres may exceed zero or there is a concentration of an airborne hazardous substance that is hazardous to the safety and health of the employee, the air shall be sampled by a qualified person and the concentration of the chemical agent, airborne asbestos fibres or hazardous substance determined by means of a test in accordance with

  • (a) the standards set out by the United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in the NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods, Third Edition, Volumes 1 and 2, dated February 1984; or

  • (b) a method set out in the United States Federal Register, Volume 40, Number 33, dated February 18, 1975, as amended by Volume 41, Number 53, dated March 17, 1976.

• (3) A record of each test made in accordance with subsection (2) shall be kept for two years after the date of the test by the employer at the employer’s place of business that is nearest to the work place where the air was sampled.

• (4) The record referred to in subsection (3) shall include

  • (a) the date, time and location of the test;

  • (b) the chemical agent for which the test was made;

  • (c) the sampling and testing method used;

  • (d) the result obtained; and

  • (e) the name and occupation of the qualified person who made the test.

• 11.24 (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), the concentration of an airborne chemical agent or combination of chemical agents in a work place shall be less than 50 per cent of the lower explosive limit of the chemical agent or combination of chemical agents.

• (2) Where a source of ignition may ignite the concentration of an airborne chemical agent or combination of chemical agents in a work place, that concentration shall not exceed 10 per cent of the lower explosive limit of the chemical agent or combination of chemical agents.

• (3) Subsection (1) does not apply if

  • (a) the work place is a Class I Division 1 or a Class I Division 2 area, as defined in section 18 of the Canadian Electrical Code;

  • (b) the work place is equipped with an alarm system that will automatically be activated when the concentration referred to in subsection (1) exceeds 60 per cent of the lower explosive limit of the chemical agent or combination of chemical agents; and

  • (c) no employee is exposed to a level in excess of 75 per cent of the lower explosive limit of the chemical agent or combination of chemical agents.

• 11.25 (1) Compressed air shall be used in such a manner that the air is not directed forcibly against any person.

• (2) The use of compressed air shall not result in a concentration of an airborne hazardous substance that is in excess of the values for the hazardous substance referred to in subsections 11.23(1) or (1.1).