31 March 2021

WorkSafe has granted an exemption (HS0001) to IXOM Operations Pty Ltd from compliance with regulation 12.16(1) of the Health and Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2017 for their site at 166 Totara Street, Mount Maunganui.

The exemption is granted by WorkSafe in accordance with section 220 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 on the basis that WorkSafe is satisfied that—

• the extent of the exemption is not broader than is reasonably necessary to address the matters that gave rise to the proposed exemption; and
• the exemption is not inconsistent with the purpose of the Act.

WorkSafe notes that—

• altering the site to become compliant will cause significant disruption to the site and business operations which would be disproportionate to the reduction in risk and may increase the risk at the site; and
• IXOM are able to contain the total quantity of pooling substances within the secondary and tertiary containment system; and
• the risk associated with the reduced capacity of secondary containment is negligible; and
• the secondary containment system capacity at the site meets the recommendation in the Australian standard AS 4326-2008 and the US standard NFPA 400.

The exemption comes into effect 31 March 2021 and expires on 31 March 2026 unless it is replaced sooner or revoked.