The Department of Employment and Labour’s Major Hazard Installation (MHI) sub-directorate within the Inspection and Enforcement Services (IES), will be conducting a series of workshops to institute relations with Local Authorities and collect inputs to develop an MHI technical document.
The technical document is meant to assist the Local Authorities and the duty holder or the risk owners to comply with the MHI Regulations by:
- Identifying an entry point for MHI approvals at the Local Authority.
- Defining the criteria for quantitative risk assessments and the minimal acceptable contents in the risk assessment reports and;
- Renewal and updating of MHI information.
- The workshops are planned to be conducted in provinces with a high number of MHI sites i.e. Kwa-Zulu Natal, Gauteng and the Western Cape.
Dates for the workshops are planned as follows:
- Kwa-Zulu Natal: 9 October 2019 (EThekwini Electrical, Springfield, Durban)
- Western Cape: 21 November 2019 (Fransie van Zijl Drive, Parow, 7500Tygerberg Hospital Premises)
- Western Cape 22 November 2019 (Fire Chief meeting WC Provincial)
- Gauteng (Boksburg Fire Station) date to be confirmed.
At least 200 delegates are expected to attend the workshops. The technical document will be used as a framework to guide the Local Authorities across the board on how to handle and deal with MHI sites.
Major Hazard Installation is an industrial facility that manufactures and/or stores relatively large quantities of chemical materials, which, if they were to lose containment, would result in effects that could cause harm to personnel and members of the public near the facility.
Effects may include major fires, explosions and release of toxic materials that disperse over a distance.
By law, MHI Regulations are administered by the Department of Employment Labour. Every employer, self-employed person and user shall notify the chief inspector, provincial director and relevant local government in writing of the erection of any installation that will be a major hazard installation, prior to commencement of erection thereof; and the conversion of any existing installation into a major hazard installation, prior to such conversion.
Media is invited to attend.
