Bin or pit storage

Notwithstanding anything in these Regulations to the contrary, the City Engineer may, subject to any other laws and regulations in force, grant a licence for keeping dangerous petroleum on premises subject to the following conditions– (1) The possession of dangerous petroleum may be permitted, provided that– (a) the dangerous shall be contained in gastight, tinned or galvanised sheet iron, steel or lead plate receptacles fitted with well-made filling holes and well-fitting screw plugs, or fitted with screw caps or other metal airtight caps, subject to the following provisions; (b) an air space of at least 2 ½ % of the capacity of the receptacle shall be left in each receptacle at the time of filling; (c) all receptacles shall be so substantially constructed and secured as not to be liable, except under circumstances of grave negligence or extraordinary 160 Belize City Council accident, to be broken or become defective, leaky or insecure; (d) the nature of the contents and the words “highly inflammable” shall be distinctly marked on all receptacles; (e) such receptacles shall be kept in iron bins at least three sixteenths of an inch thick, or concrete bins or in concrete masonry or brick-lined cement-faced pits; (f) such bins or pits shall be substantially constructed to the approval of the City Engineer; (g) such bins or pits shall be provided with a close-fitting iron door or manhole cover and with a ventilation pipe at least one inch in diameter communicating with the open air at least ten feet from the ground and either at least ten feet from any door, window, chimney or exhaust pipe, or above the roof; and every such ventilation pipe shall be fitted with wire gauze diaphragms; (h) the door opening of such bins or pits shall be at such height that the portion below the opening can contain 5% in excess without flow therefrom of the quantity of petroleum allowed to be stored therein; (i) not more than five hundred gallons of dangerous petroleum shall be kept in any such bin or pit and not more than forty gallons shall be kept on the premises, at any one time outside such bin or pit, except when it is desired to keep Belize City Council 161 dangerous petroleum on the premises in metal drums of capacities of not less than forty gallons and of not more than sixty- five gallons for the purposes of distribution therefrom by means of approved appliances, in which case one such metal drum for each such approved appliance shall be allowed to be kept on the premises outside such bin or pit; (j) any such bin or pit shall be at least twenty feet from the nearest part of any other such bin or pit on the same or on other (2) No vessel shall be filled or replenished with dangerous petroleum nor shall the contents of any such vessel be exposed in the presence of fire or artificial light, except such light and fittings of the construction, position and character as described in regulation 4 (7) of these Regulations and not liable to ignite any inflammable vapour arising from such petroleum, nor shall any fire or artificial light capable of igniting inflammable vapour be brought within dangerous proximity to the place where any vessel containing dangerous petroleum is being kept; nor shall any such filling or replenishing be carried out within the premises. (3) In the case of dangerous petroleum kept or conveyed for any purpose whatsoever– (a) all due precautions shall be taken for the prevention of accidents by fire or explosion and for the prevention of unauthorised persons having access to any dangerous kept or conveyed and to the vessels containing or intended to contain, or having actually contained the same; 162 Belize City Council (b) every person managing or employed on or in connection with any garage, store, bin, pit or other receptacle where or in which dangerous petroleum is being kept in excess of forty gallons, shall abstain from smoking and from every other act whatsoever which tends to cause fire or explosion, and which is not reasonably necessary and shall prevent any other person from committing such act; (c) notices forbidding smoking, in letters of at least six inches in height, shall be conspicuously displayed on the premises. (4) Supplies of not less than 7 cwt. of sand or dry earth, and at least one extinguisher of the “foam” type, shall be kept in every garage available for use in case of fire. Such sand, earth, and extinguisher shall be maintained in a condition suitable for its intended purpose. (5) The application for a licence under this regulation shall be accompanied by a certificate from the City Council approving the site and construction of the bins or pits in which the petroleum is to be stored in accordance with these Regulations. (6) Petroleum shall not be allowed to escape into any inlet or drain communicating with a sewer. (7) Applications for licences under this regulation shall be submitted in accordance with regulation 12 (2) of these Regulations.