Ottawa-The Canadian fertilizer industry has published a new code of practice for the handling and storage of anhydrous ammonia by agri-retailers. The code exceeds both national and provincial regulations and calls for third party audits to assure that participants are in compliance. Planners with the Fertilizer Safety and Security Council, which formulated the code, describe it as the next step in reducing risks by building on progress already achieved in reducing the incidence of accidents with existing regulations, safety programs, and training. According to Dave Finlayson, executive director of the council, the independent audits will have to be completed every two years starting Jan. 1, 2009, to assure all anhydrous ammonia retail sites are fully complaint with the standards by the end of 2010. By Jan. 1, 2011, retailers will need to have successfully passed an audit to continue receiving ammonia from Canadian suppliers. “The safety and security of Canadians is important to us and we want to ensure our products are responsibly cared for in communities across the country,” declared Finlayson, who in addition to heading the council is CFI’s vice president for science and risk management. “Test audits have shown that many agri-retailers are already in compliance in most areas of the code, so becoming 100 percent compliant should not be too onerous, but does require some advance planning.” He said the independent auditors that have been chosen are presently working or have worked in the field and have been trained by fertilizer manufacturers in an intensive week-long session. He said the facilities will need to make arrangements and contract with the auditors themselves. A spokesman for the retailers termed the new standards rigorous but achievable. “Agri-retailers are committed to the safety of their employees and customers in communities across the country,” said Dave MacKay, who heads the Canadian Association of Agri-Retailers. “The ammonia code sets a measurable standard of security and safety for retail operations that is rigorous but attainable.” The 200-page code draws heavily from the pesticide standards established by the Agri-Chemical Warehousing Standards Assn., which partnered with the council in putting this new program in place. Chapters of the code are devoted to spelling out the requirements in individual areas, including training standards, emergency response, vessel safety, documentation, insurance, and transportation. Participating in the deliberations were fertilizer manufacturers, distributors, and agri-retailers, with help from government agencies and the first responder community. Finlayson explained that the principle of equivalency is incorporated into the code in recognition that there may be several ways to meet a code requirement. “If someone has found an alternate way to meet or exceed a code requirement, this will be accepted.”
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain