Ministry of Defence has gazetted the new regulation on hazardous chemicals, requiring businesses to store dangerous chemicals in non-residential buildings.
The new regulation include instructions on importing, storing and usage of non-explosive chemicals and acid from such chemicals. The defence ministry revealed the new regulation stipulates safety of import, usage and disposal of such chemicals in Maldives. Businesses are required to import, label, move, store, use, sell and dispose of chemicals in accordance with the new regulations within three months from the ratification of the regulation.
The new regulation includes requirements for importing chemicals, record keeping and selling of chemicals, in addition to approaches to treating chemicals imported without due approvals. The regulation also requires businesses to obtain an approval from the defence ministry before a chemical is imported.
Chemicals imported without proper approvals shall be confiscated by the ministry, without compensation. Further, businesses can only sell chemicals after obtaining an approval from the ministry.
The storage of chemicals must be located away from residential areas and the storage shall only be subject to chemicals alone. The regulation also instructs businesses to store fire hazards, explosive hazards, fuel hazards, multi-fuel hazards separately.
Businesses are also mandated to keep security at the warehouses. The regulation also require chemical storage facilities to be less than three storeys, entrance doors to be fire resistant for at least 30 minutes, in addition to mandating businesses to establish special warehouses for chemicals that require specific temperatures. The storage facilities are required to install passive and active fire extinguishing mechanisms as directed by the Fire and Rescue Services of Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).
The new regulation has come following a devastating fire on Friday night that left one dead and over 400 homeless, destroying 4 garages and 7 residential buildings.