Health and Safety Executive

Traceability of Explosives – ITOER

The Identification and Traceability of Explosives Regulations 2010 (ITOER) require that explosives for civil uses are uniquely identified and can be traced from the production site through to their final use.

This is to help prevent misuse and theft and help authorities trace the origin of lost or stolen explosives.

The Regulations implement EC Directive 2008/43/EC. Important – these Regulations will apply from 5th April 2013

 ITOER applies to every explosive except:

  • pyrotechnics, for example flares or fireworks
  • ammunition
  • unpackaged explosives transported and delivered for direct unloading into the blast-hole, for example in pump trucks
  • explosives produced in-situ for immediate use
  • explosives for legal use by the military or police

The main duties of the Regulations are:

  • Product identification – explosives manufactured in or imported into Great Britain shall be uniquely marked with an alphanumerical code and barcode
  • Record keeping – any person who manufactures, imports, distributes or acquires or keeps any explosives included in the Regulations must keep a record of the explosives:
  • for a period of 10 years and
  • provide the enforcing authority with contact details so that information in their records can be accessed at any time

Impact on existing legislation

The duty in the regulations relating to record keeping overlaps an existing duty in the Control of Explosives Regulations 1991 (COER), which will remain in force until superseded by ITOER

Important changes to the coming into force date

EU Directive 2008/43/EC on the traceability of explosives was amended by European Commission Directive 2012/4/EU on the 22nd February 2012. 

The Identification and Traceability of Explosives Regulations 2010, which transposes Commission Directive 2008/43 /EC into GB law, is amended by The Identification and Traceability of Explosives (Amendment) Regulations 2012 to

  • extend the coming into force date to 5th April 2013, to ensure that the implementing measures for the 2008 Directive do not come into force before they are now required to. 
  • insert a review clause into the 2010 Regulations; in compliance with government policy for a statutory duty on Ministers to periodically review Regulations.

European Commission Directive 2012/4/EU makes a number of further changes.  HSE is preparing Regulations that will fully implement the changes made by the 2012/4/EU Directive to be implemented in 2013. In summary, the further changes are to:

  • exempt certain items of explosives, which present a low level of hazard in comparison with the other explosives within scope, i.e. fuses, including safety fuses as well as cap-type primers
  • change the requirement for marking some explosives to allow the smallest packaging unit to be marked.  This is allowed only where it is impossible to mark the item with the information required, because they are too small and/or due to their shape or design. 
  • extend further the implementation date for requirements for data collection and record keeping to 5th April 2015.

Review of explosives legislation

The development of guidance to accompany the Regulations will be undertaken as part of the Explosives Legislative Review (ELR).

Information on the review can be found on the ELR community site. This provides the background to the review, an overview of the work and an opportunity to read about and contribute to ongoing discussions.

It is a private forum, but if you are involved in the explosives sector in Great Britain and would like to become a member, please email your contact details and a brief description of your interest to elr@hse.gsi.gov.uk.

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Updated: 25.04.12