Coverage
1. How should HNS be defined for the purposes of a Canadian ship-source incident preparedness and response regime?
2. What types of substances should be included in a Canadian regime for HNS? What is the rationale for their inclusion? What criteria should be used to inform the future inclusion of additional substances?
Many petrochemicals shipped in bulk by sea are mixtures of various materials (some oils, some chemicals), and depending upon the composition at a given time, there may be a situation where a mixture might or might not be covered by any regulatory regime that may be developed in this regard.
From a regulatory enforcement standpoint as well as from a more practical point of view, it is of vital importance that both facilities and vessels know which cargoes are subject to the regulations and which cargoes are not. Leaving it up to the exact composition today will lead to a significant amount of risk and unknowns for vessels and facilities, as well as for the regulators themselves. To avoid these types of situations, it would be much more appropriate to link applicability of regulations to the proper shipping names as found in the IBC Code and the IGC Code.
Therefore, simply by knowing the proper shipping name, it will be possible for anyone (facility, terminals, vessels and regulators) to know whether that cargo is regulated under a Canadian ship-source incident preparedness and response regime.
Regulations under any (Canadian ship-source incident preparedness and response) regime should require that each product have information provided that will aid the vessel, facility or responders in safely and properly handling the material in an incident. While this information is often provided through a SDS or MSDS, the data provided at times might not be in the best format or the easiest-to-understand format for responders and other personnel.
In this regard it would be recommended to that a database be developed which could contain such information in a simplified format and which could serve the purpose. In a similar manner the US Coast Guard, had previously maintained what was called the CHRIS Code, which provided simplified MSDS’s.
3. Should a regime address HNS transported in bulk or in packaged form (e.g. containers), or one or the other? Why?
MARPOL, Annex II and the IBC Code covers over 700 products carried in bulk as cargo. Regulation 17 of Annex II to MARPOL requires emergency plans for the entire list and not just a few.
It should also be noted that under similar US requirements each listed hazardous substance contains a “Reportable Quantity,” the discharge of which may make that chemical harmful to the marine environment and therefore constitute a violation. A discharge of a hazardous substance in a quantity less than a Reportable Quantity should not be a violation and should not need to be reported.
Any proposed definition should recognise the nexus between the designation of a chemical as a hazardous substance and its Reportable Quantity.
INTERTANKO believes that any rule or definition written should provide a consistent approach to health and safety as well as environmental protection that will be to the benefit of the Canadian public.
It is important to note that many of the ships to which these regulations will apply are chemical tankers carrying a variety of chemicals on any one trip, all of which, if they are harmful to the marine environment, are regulated by MARPOL Annex II. Conversely, some, a few, or none at all may be Hazardous Substances.
INTERTANKO believes that a comprehensive system of response, planning, and preparedness, as well as a system that eliminates potential confusion aboard ship should be developed such that encompass the full range of chemicals regulated by MARPOL/IBC Code.
Prevention
4. What measures are already undertaken, either by government or industry, to prevent ship-source HNS incidents?
A review of HNS spill prevention and response requirements under different regimes should be undertaken to assess the standards that would be developed under the Canadian regime.
Regulatory requirements, such as the IBC Code systems for high-level alarms and closed loading/gauging, as well as local/national pollution prevention regulations and industry guidance such as that from ISGOTT and ICS TSG Chemicals should also be considered.
5. What additional measures should be taken to reduce the risk of a ship-source HNS incident?
Historical Precedent should play a major role in assessing the stringency of standards. The standards of this rulemaking should be based on historical precedent. The transportation and safety record of the bulk chemical fleet has been outstanding. This is due in no small measure to existing US and international design and operational standards for the carriage of chemicals and liquefied gases. The ships are designed to withstand damage and contain cargo even when damaged. Additionally, the small vessel size, small cargo tank size and independent pumping system make transportation, handling and transfer much less prone to problems than for vessels carrying petroleum products.
The Canadian authorities are encouraged to use a risk-based approach in determining the response requirements of this proposed rule. Such an approach will weigh the actual risk posed by a chemical with the measures that need to be taken to respond to it. Further, in any preventative measure a properly considered cost-benefit analysis should also be considered.
Existing Response Capabilities
6. What private-sector capability currently exists to respond to HNS incidents in the marine environment, including at HNS handling facilities, on board vessels that carry HNS, and with emergency response contractors?
Response capability generally closely follows that of oil pollution response for organization, equipment and procedures, with emphasis on the much more varied products potentially in the HNS category which then present their own challenges and concerns.
7. What public-sector capability, at all levels of government, currently exists to respond to or oversee the response to HNS incidents in the marine environment?
8. What response techniques exist for responding to various HNS incidents in the marine environment? Are all of them authorized under current legislation? If not, under what circumstances should they be authorized?
Preparedness and Response
9. What preparedness and response requirements should be incorporated into a new HNS regime?
10. To whom should these requirements apply?
11. Is the current reporting/record keeping of HNS cargo on vessels in Canada adequate to prepare for and respond to HNS incidents? What could be done to improve the quality and accessibility of the information?
12. Are there international best practices (ship-source or other) that should be considered when creating a national HNS incident preparedness and response regime?
13. How do health and safety considerations for both responders and adjacent populations impact preparedness and response for HNS incidents?
14. What scientific advice and expertise is required during an HNS incident? Does this expertise currently exist, either in government or private industry? What expertise needs to be developed in Canada?
15. How should response capacity for an HNS regime be developed? What factors should be considered?
Roles, Responsibilities and Legal Framework
16. Should a separate preparedness and response regime for HNS be created, or should the existing Ship-source Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Regime be expanded to include HNS? Why or why not?
17. Could Canada’s Response Organizations (ROs) fulfill the role of responder to certain ship-source HNS incidents, as they currently do for ship-source oil spills?
The role of the Response Organisations (ROs) vis-à-vis local incident commanders needs to be carefully considered. Unlike oil spill response, a significant component of response to chemical releases is public health and safety. As a result, far greater involvement on the part of public agencies, particularly at the local level, occurs during chemical releases than during oil spills. The relationship between the Response Organisations, who will invoke a private sector response initiative, and the local incident commander, such as the local fire chief, who will, in all likelihood, direct the response under pre-eminent state and local authority, needs to be carefully considered before developing any regulations.
In an oil spill response, the relationship between the Responder and a local incident commander is fairly well established; the same may not be true in the case of chemical releases. Local jurisdiction over chemical releases prospectively establishes a new dynamic based on participants.
The ramifications of the failure to ensure that this relationship is clearly understood are significant. Conflicting orders to response personnel, based on preconceived notions of “who’s in charge” and different response objectives, could result in extremely dangerous operations.
INTERTANKO recommends that any regime articulates this relationship to ensure that local authorities accept this relationship prior to imposing any new requirements.
The Responder organisation should have adequate training as without basic knowledge of chemical response. It is critical that responders are properly trained by establishing a minimum standard training requirement and certification to demonstrate this should be available.
18. What factors would need to be considered in broadening the Response Organizations’ mandate to include HNS?
19. If adopted, should the requirements for an HNS regime be integrated into current legislation, such as the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 and the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act, or should new legislation be created?
20. How should an HNS regime interact with the regulations for the transportation of dangerous goods in Canada?
21. What role should the Canadian Coast Guard play in an HNS incident?
22. What are the current roles and responsibilities of other levels of government (provincial and municipal) in this area? Are any of these governments considering new prevention, preparedness and response requirements that could be of benefit to a national regime?
23. What other parties (i.e., first response agencies, health agencies, marine services, etc) have a role in the preparedness for or response to ship-source HNS incidents? What role could they play?
Contingency Plans need to reflect chemical emergency procedures and available response resources. Chemical preparedness, planning, and response require a unique blend of public and private sector efforts. It is INTERTANKO’s view that this partnership is best achieved through creating areas and sectors.
Existing chemical response procedures, capabilities, and short falls, including human resources, need to be identified. The results of this then need to be used to develop provisions which the regulated community may draw on in order to ensure an adequate level of response to chemical emergencies.
INTERTANKO recommends that procedures are developed to reflect operational procedures, equipment and resource availability prior to imposing any new requirements.
24. Should responders be provided immunity from liability in the context of their response, as they are in the Ship-source Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Regime under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001?
25. How could a future HNS incident preparedness and response regime be financed or funded?
26. How should an HNS regime be overseen and enforced?
Research and Development
27. How should priorities for HNS-related research and development be established?
28. Who should be responsible for funding and conducting this research?