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What it regulates
The Explosives Regulation contains specific occupational safety and health duties for factories, storage facilities and professional use. This sheet focuses on assessment, planning, training, coordination and qualification requirements, distinguishing them from public-security and trade controls.
Who it applies to
Additional provision 2; selected prevention articles; complementary technical instructions 8, 9 and 14. It is not a manual for manufacturing, loading, firing or destroying explosives and does not replace required authorisations or technical supervision.
Key provisions
Additional provision 2 preserves application of the LPRL and its implementing rules. Articles 45 and 75 address OSH duties in factories and storage facilities; the specific regime does not remove general preventive management.
Additional provision secondArticle 46 requires prior information and training on materials, risks and measures, safety instructions, suitable protection and qualified personnel for authorised work. It also addresses first aid and evacuation under the emergency plan.
Article 46Technical instruction 14 requires assessment of specific explosion risks and measures planned with deadlines, responsible persons and resources. Installations, equipment, ignition sources, interactions and foreseeable consequences must be controlled, with monitoring of preventive implementation.
Complementary technical instruction 14The same instruction requires hazardous zones to be identified and signed and businesses sharing the site to coordinate. The site operator documents coordination measures and methods; specific inspection powers and Labour Inspectorate powers over other businesses must be respected.
Complementary technical instruction 14Technical instruction 8 governs shotfirer certificates, specialisms and the assistant role. The certificate alone is insufficient: activity must be performed within an authorised explosives-consuming business. A provisional certificate entails six months of supervised practice before the definitive certificate; the specific category and authorisation must be checked.
Complementary technical instruction 8Technical instruction 9 governs factory and storage-facility design and siting and requires equipment to comply with applicable provisions before workers use it. The 2025 amendment introduces a specific transition for certain distances between storage facilities.
Complementary technical instruction 9History and versions
Initial publication: 04/03/2017 · Initial entry into force: 05/03/2017
BOE-A-2017-2313Published on 4 March 2017 and effective from 5 March 2017. Three subsequent relationships are recorded: extraordinary extensions in 2020, public-security changes to technical instruction 26 in 2022 and revision of technical instruction 9 in 2025. The preventive significance of each relationship is distinguished.
Order INT/316/2020, article 4: temporary extensions of article 119 authorisations and article 125 certificates linked to the state of alarm.
BOE-A-2020-4259Order INT/591/2022 amends technical instruction 26 on surveillance and protection measures. It concerns public security and does not replace OSH duties in technical instruction 14.
BOE-A-2022-10673Order TED/1098/2025: revised technical instruction 9; transition until 31 December 2027 for expressly specified distances between storage facilities.
BOE-A-2025-20207Text versions of the selected OSH provisions
| Publication | Effective date | Official reference | Affected provisions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 04/03/2017 | 05/03/2017 | BOE-A-2017-2313 | Additional provision second, Article 45, Article 46, Article 75, Article 107, Article 124, Article 125, Complementary technical instruction 8, Complementary technical instruction 9, Complementary technical instruction 14 |
| 10/10/2025 | 11/10/2025 | BOE-A-2025-20207 | Complementary technical instruction 9 |
Transitional provisions and application notes
Order TED/1098/2025 allows until 31 December 2027 to meet distances from other storage facilities for establishments covered by section 2 of technical instruction 9. It does not generally suspend risk assessment, safety measures or the entire instruction.
Official referenceExtensions under Order INT/316/2020 were linked to the state of alarm: six months for certain use authorisations and three months for certificates expiring during that period. They do not automatically renew validity periods ending in 2026.
Official referenceThe explosives regime and technical instruction 14 must not be confused with the general explosive-atmospheres regime under RD 681/2003. Activities, substances and exclusions must be delineated; sharing the word explosion does not make requirements interchangeable.
Complementary technical instruction 14
Official BOE legal relationships
This record covers the history of the selected occupational safety and health provisions. The official analysis also provides the relationships affecting other subjects in the legislation.
Official BOE legal relationships
