Inspections

OCPF Inspections

Purpose of Inspections

General Inspection Aim

The general aim of OCPF inspections is "to verify that activities are consistent with the information provided in declarations". This information includes:

• the name of the plant site and of the owner, company, or enterprise operating it;
• the precise location of the plant site including its address (this could involve taking GPS measurements);
• its main activities expressed in terms of Product Group Codes;
• the approximate number of plants producing discrete organic chemicals;
• the approximate aggregate amount of production of DOC, expressed in ranges
• the precise number of PSF plants
• the approximate aggregate amount of production of PSF chemicals produced by each PSF plant expressed in ranges

Particular aim of the inspection

The particular aim of the inspection is the "verification of the absence of any Schedule 1 chemical, especially its production".

The Inspection

Notification

The OPCW will notify the Canadian National Authority (CNA) in Ottawa of an upcoming OCPF inspection at least 120 hours before the Inspection Team is to arrive at the plant site. The contact person for the plant site identified in the latest plant site Declaration will be immediately informed by the CNA, by Fax and by telephone, of the date of the upcoming inspection, the number of OPCW Inspectors and the expected arrival time of the OPCW Inspection Team at the plant site.

Duration

The period of inspection is limited to 24 hours. Extensions are possible if it is so agreed between the Inspection Team and the CNA Escort.

Arrangements

While the CNA is responsible for all arrangements for the Inspection Team relating to transportation, accommodation etc., the plant site representative will be asked to confirm the availability of meals on site for the Inspection Team and CNA escorts during the inspection. Meals provided by the site will be reimbursed by inspectors and CNA escorts. The plant site's ability to provide special meals (e.g. vegetarian) will need to be determined if the OPCW Inspection Notification identifies Inspection Team members with such needs.

The Inspection Team requires separate working space, which they can seal when not occupying it, and the ability to make private official telephone calls and send faxes to the TS in The Hague, using their own or plant site equipment. Faxes may be sent on company equipment, but neither the company nor the National Authority may see the content of the fax. Access to a photocopier is also desirable. Any costs associated with the provision of these requirements will be reimbursed by the CNA.

The OPCW Inspection Team usually consists of four inspectors. They could break down into two sub-teams to allow for concurrent activity, such as checking records, plant engineering reviews and work on the Preliminary Findings (PF) report, and inspection of the plant site. The CNA will provide two escorts, so that it will be able to accompany both of the sub-teams, and the site may also wish to have two escorts available, as the Inspection Team will need to be accompanied when it tours the plant site. The inspection will generally occur during normal business hours i.e. 8.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. The Inspectors may require access to the workroom in the evenings.

The Inspection Team members will generally use their own safety equipment. When an inspection notification is received, the plant site should inform the CNA of any exceptional plant site health and safety requirements, or special clothing or equipment needs, so that the OPCW can be informed.

Inspection Conduct and Timetable

Inspection Timetable

With declarable facilities all across the country, Canada has designated 6 airports (Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver) as Points Of Entry (POEs) for OPCW Inspection Teams. The CNA Escort Team will meet the Inspection Team at the applicable POE and accompany them to the plant site to be inspected.

The Convention requires that the Inspection Team be able to reach the facility to be inspected within 12 hours of arrival at the POE. Since the Inspection Team will come from The Hague, arrival will likely be in the afternoon. After the initial formalities conducted by the CNA Escorts (acceptance of the Inspection Mandate and equipment inspection), the Inspection Team will be transported from the POE to the plant site area to meet the 12 hour requirement. It is expected that the actual inspection would begin the next morning. There may be variations to this scenario, depending upon arrival times.

It is anticipated that the Inspection Team and CNA Escort personnel will be at the plant site two days only, but this may vary from inspection to inspection.

Conduct of Inspections

Pre-inspection briefing

The inspection begins with a formal pre-inspection briefing of the Inspection Team by plant site personnel. Its purpose is to provide the Inspection Team with information in relation to those general and particular aims of the inspection listed above. As much information as possible should thus be provided on the plant site, the activities carried out in terms of production groups and production ranges, location of records, the number of plants producing the chemicals declared, access issues, health and safety measures and any administrative and logistical arrangements pertinent to the inspection. This should be done with the aid of maps and diagrams, the most recent Declaration and any documentation required to answer questions on any item contained in the Declaration, which the site has submitted. The time spent on the briefing should not exceed three hours.

Accomplishment of the general aim

The Inspection Team will accomplish the general aim of the Inspection Mandate through:

• documentation provided during the Pre-Inspection Briefing (PIB)
• physical observation and counting (spot checks in case of large plant site)
• use of maps and/or measurement of geographical co-ordinates (GPS)
• company brochures
• checking of previous year production records

Accomplishment of the particular aim

The IT carries out this part of its inspection mandate by "an engineering evaluation of the plant site and, as appropriate, its component plants". This will require access to as much of the declared plant site as possible in the 24 hour inspection time period. The techniques employed by the Inspection Team will include:

• engineering evaluation of the plant site and the component plant(s)
• visit of the First Aid/Medical facility
• visit of the Central QC lab
• visit of the Central Warehouse
• visit of the R&D Lab
• review of documents and records (list of chemicals handled on site)

Confidentiality

Verification of the declared production range can be made by reference to records from the previous calendar year. Access to these records (eg. basic process flow information, annual or monthly production records) will be requested by the Inspection Team.

If there are any confidentiality concerns regarding documentation, industry has the right to ask that business confidential information is protected. This can be accomplished by blacking out sensitive information contained in these records. In the same way, if there are confidentiality concerns, parts of the process can be screened from view or access denied (the concept of "managed access") to parts of the operation for the same reason. The plant site must then find a way to resolve any ambiguities or concerns that might arise from such actions and must always demonstrate compliance.

As DOC declarations do not have to specify which chemicals are produced, there is no obligation to brief the Inspection Team on which chemicals are produced or to identify the raw materials used. However, if this information is not confidential, speaking freely about products and raw materials would demonstrate openness.

It is up to the CNA Escort Team Leader to protect the interests of the inspected plant site from unreasonable demands from the Inspection Team. It is also the CNA Escort Team Leader who must decide what information is necessary from the inspected site to demonstrate Canadian compliance with the obligations of the Convention.

Reports

Preliminary Findings Report

When the Preliminary Findings Report (PF) is ready, on the day after the inspection, following completion of the inspection activities, the Inspection Team will meet with site personnel and the CNA Escort Team to review the Report and to try to resolve any outstanding ambiguities. The PF is then signed by the heads of the Inspection Team and the CNA Escort Team. This meeting is to be completed not later than 24 hours after the completion of the inspection. The Inspection Team will then leave the site and be taken to the POE for their departure by the CNA Escort Team.

Final Inspection Report

Not later than 10 days after the inspection, the Inspection Team is required to send to the CNA a factual Final Inspection Report on its findings, based on the PF. Any comments from the Inspected State Party can be annexed to the final Report, which must be sent to the Director-General no later than 30 days after completion of the inspection. The CNA will make a copy of this Report available to the plant site that has been inspected.

While it is not expected that there will be any problems with OCPF inspections in Canada the Convention does allow for further action, if required. If the Report contains uncertainties or should co-operation between the National Authority and the inspectors not measure up to the standards required, the Director-General will approach the State Party for clarification. If the uncertainties cannot be removed or the facts established are of a nature to suggest that obligations under the Convention have not been met, the Director-General shall inform the Executive Council without delay. 

Schedule 2 Inspections

Inspections of Schedule 2 facilities

Purpose of Inspections

General Inspection Aim

The general aim of inspections of Schedule 2 facilities is to verify that the activities are in accordance with obligations under the Convention and are consistent with the information to be provided in declarations.

Particular aims of the inspection

The particular aims of inspections of Schedule 2 facilities are to verify:

• The absence of any Schedule 1 chemical, especially its production, except if in accordance with Part VI of the Verification Annex (VA);
• Consistency with declarations of levels of production, processing or consumption of Schedule 2 chemicals; and
• Non-diversion of Schedule 2 chemicals for activities prohibited under the Convention.

Aims specific to initial inspections

In the course of an initial inspection of a Schedule 2 facility, the inspection team (IT) shall:

• prepare a draft facility agreement (FA) for the plant site unless the inspected State Party (ISP) and the Secretariat have agreed that it is not needed; and
• collect information to enable the Secretariat to begin the process of assessing the risk to the object and purpose of the Convention posed by the relevant chemicals, the characteristics of the plant site, and the nature of the activities carried out there.

The Inspection

Notification

The OPCW will notify the Canadian National Authority (CNA) in Ottawa of an upcoming Schedule 2 inspection not less than 48 hours before the arrival of the Inspection Team at the plant site. The contact person for the plant site identified in the latest plant site declaration will be immediately informed by the CNA, by email or Fax and by telephone, of the date of the upcoming inspection, the number of OPCW Inspectors and the expected arrival time of the OPCW Inspection Team at the plant site.

Duration

The period of inspection is limited to 96 hours. Extensions are possible if it is so agreed between the Inspection Team and the CNA Escort.

Arrangements

While the CNA is responsible for all arrangements for the Inspection Team relating to transportation, accommodation etc., the plant site representative will be asked to confirm the availability of meals on site for the Inspection Team and CNA escorts during the inspection. Meals provided by the site will be reimbursed by inspectors and CAN escorts. The plant site's ability to provide special meals (e.g. vegetarian) will need to be determined if the OPCW Inspection Notification identifies Inspection Team members with such needs.

The Inspection Team requires separate working space, which they can seal when not occupying it, and the ability to make private official telephone calls and send faxes to the TS in The Hague, using their own or plant site equipment. Faxes may be sent on company equipment, but neither the company nor the National Authority may see the content of the fax. Access to a photocopier is also desirable. Any costs associated with the provision of these requirements will be reimbursed by the CNA.

The OPCW Inspection Team usually consists of four inspectors. They could break down into two sub-teams to allow for concurrent activity, such as checking records, plant engineering reviews and work on the Preliminary Findings (PF) report, and inspection of the plant site. The CNA will provide two escorts, so that it will be able to accompany both of the sub-teams, and the site may also wish to have two escorts available, as the Inspection Team will need to be accompanied when it tours the plant site. The inspection will generally occur during normal business hours i.e. 8.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. The Inspectors may require access to the workroom in the evenings.

The Inspection Team members will generally use their own safety equipment. When an inspection notification is received, the plant site should inform the CNA of any exceptional plant site health and safety requirements, or special clothing or equipment needs, so that the OPCW can be informed.

Inspection Conduct and Timetable

Inspection Timetable

With declarable facilities all across the country, Canada has designated 6 airports (Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver) as Points Of Entry (POEs) for OPCW Inspection Teams. The CNA Escort Team will meet the Inspection Team at the applicable POE and accompany them to the plant site to be inspected.

The Convention requires that the Inspection Team be able to reach the facility to be inspected within 12 hours of arrival at the POE. Since the Inspection Team will come from The Hague, arrival will likely be in the afternoon. After the initial formalities conducted by the CNA Escorts (acceptance of the Inspection Mandate and equipment inspection), the Inspection Team will be transported from the POE to the plant site area to meet the 12 hour requirement. It is expected that the actual inspection would begin the next morning. There may be variations to this scenario, depending upon arrival times.

It is anticipated that the Inspection Team and CNA Escort personnel will be at the plant site four days, but this may vary from inspection to inspection.

Conduct of Inspections

Pre-inspection briefing

The inspection begins with a formal pre-inspection briefing of the Inspection Team by plant site personnel. Its purpose is to provide the Inspection Team with information in relation to those general and particular aims of the inspection listed above. As much information as possible should thus be provided on the plant site such as company’s history and organisational structure, activities carried out, number of plants producing, processing or consuming the chemicals declared, chemistries, simplified process flow diagrams, material balances, access issues, health and safety measures and any administrative and logistical arrangements pertinent to the inspection. This should be done with the aid of maps and diagrams, the most recent Declaration and any documentation required to answer questions on any item contained in the Declaration, which the site has submitted. The time spent on the briefing should not exceed three hours.

Accomplishment of the general aim

To accomplish the general aim of the Inspection Mandate the Inspection Team will need to verify the following information:

For the plant site:

• the name of the plant site and of the owner, company or enterprise operating it;
• its precise location including the address; and
• the number of declared Schedule 2 plants within the plant site

For each declared Schedule 2 plant:

• the name of the plant and of the owner, company or enterprise operating it;
• the precise location of the plant within the plant site, including the specific building or structure number, if any;
• the main activities at the plant;
• whether the plant:
• produces, processes or consumes the declared Schedule 2 chemical(s);
• is dedicated to such activities or is a multipurpose plant; and
• performs other activities with regard to the declared Schedule 2 chemical(s), including a specification of those other activities (e.g. storage); and
• the production capacity of the plant for each declared Schedule 2 chemical (excluding processing and consumption capacities).

The Inspection Team will verify this information through:

• review of documentation provided during the Pre-Inspection Briefing (PIB)
• use of maps and/or measurement of geographical co-ordinates (GPS)
• review of company brochures
• physical inspection of:
  • Areas where feed chemicals (reactants) are delivered or stored;
  • Areas where manipulative processes are performed upon the reactants prior to addition to the reaction vessels;
  • Feed lines as appropriate from the areas referred to in subparagraph (a) or subparagraph (b) to the reaction vessels together with any associated valves, flow meters, etc.;
  • The external aspect of the reaction vessels and ancillary equipment;
  • Lines from the reaction vessels leading to long- or short-term storage or to equipment further processing the declared Schedule 2 chemicals;
  • Control equipment associated with any of the items under subparagraphs (a) to (e);
  • Equipment and areas for waste and effluent handling;
  • Equipment and areas for disposition of chemicals not up to specification.

Access beyond the declared plant(s) will be granted to clarify ambiguities, in accordance with the Facility Agreement, or in the absence of a facility agreement in accordance with rules of managed access. The National Authority Escort Team will negotiate with the Inspection Team the extent of such access.

Accomplishment of particular aims

Absence of Schedule 1 chemicals:

The techniques employed by the Inspection Team to accomplish this aim of the inspection mandate will include:

• engineering evaluation of the plant site and the component plant(s)
• visit of the First Aid/Medical facility
• visit of the Central QC lab
• visit of the Central Warehouse
• visit of the R&D Lab
• review of the list of chemicals handled on site

Consistency with declared levels of production/processing/consumption and non-diversion of declared Schedule 2 chemicals

To accomplish these two aims of the Inspection Mandate the Inspection Team will need to verify the following information:

For each Schedule 2 chemical:

• the chemical name, common or trade name used by the facility, the structural formula, and the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registry number, if assigned;
• in the case of the initial declaration: the total amount produced, processed, consumed, imported and exported by the plant site in each of the three previous calendar years;
• in the case of annual declarations on past activities: the total amount produced, processed, consumed, imported and exported by the plant site in the previous calendar year;
• the purposes for which the chemical was produced, processed or consumed:
• for processing and consumption on site, with a specification of the product types;
• for sale or transfer within the territory or to any other place under the jurisdiction or control of the State Party, with a specification whether to another industry, trader or other destination, and, if possible, of the final product types;
• for direct export, with a specification of the States involved; or

The Inspection Team will verify this information thorough the review of:

• production, consumption or processing records;
• batch protocols and operational records for the declared Schedule 2 chemical(s);
• inventory levels of the declared Schedule 2 chemical(s) at the beginning and the end of each calendar year;
• shipping records of the declared Schedule 2 chemica(s), if applicable;
• import/export records, if applicable;
• waste disposal records, if applicable;
• raw materials purchasing and inventory records;

Particular Operational Instructions

In addition to the inspection aims, the Inspection Team is madated to:

• collect data to assess the risk to the object and purpose of the Convention posed by the relevant chemicals, the characteristics of the plant site and the nature of the activities carried out there;
• collect data necessary to conclude a Facility Agreement with the Inspected State Party to cover inspection procedures for future inspections;
• gather any further information to be provided in declarations.

Risk Assessment

During the initial inspection The Inspection Team will collect data to assess the risk to the object and purpose of this Convention posed by the relevant chemicals, the characteristics of the plant site and the nature of the activities carried out there, taking into account, inter alia, the following criteria:

• The toxicity of the scheduled chemicals and of the end-products produced with it, if any;
• The quantity of the scheduled chemicals typically stored at the inspected site;
• The quantity of feedstock chemicals for the scheduled chemicals typically stored at the inspected site;
• The production capacity of the Schedule 2 plants; and
• The capability and convertibility for initiating production, storage and filling of toxic chemicals at the inspected site.

The data collected will be used by the Technical Secretariat to decide on the frequency and intensity of subsequent inspections.

Facility Agreement

The Convention requires that a facility agreement for the declared plant site be concluded not later than 90 days after completion of the initial inspection between the inspected State Party and the Organization unless the inspected State Party and the Technical Secretariat agree that it is not needed. It is based on a model agreement and its purpose is to govern the conduct of inspections at the declared plant site, including the frequency and intensity of inspections as well as detailed inspection procedures. The National Authority Escort Team will discuss the draft on-site with the Inspection Team. Conclusion of this agreement, if deemed necessary by both the Technical Secretariat and the Government of Canada, requires further negotiations between the Technical Secretariat and the Government of Canada and approval by the Executive Council of the OPCW.

Sampling and Analysis

The Convention requires that sampling and analysis be undertaken to verify the absence of undeclared scheduled chemicals. Samples are taken by plant personnel under the supervision of the Inspection Team using the OPCW sampling kit. The samples are then prepared using the OPCW preparation kit and analysed using their portable GC-MS according to OPCW standard operating procedures and protocols. The Inspection Team will need access to a laboratory room fitted with power, water, a bench for setting up the GC-MS and the portable fumehood. The approximate volume of analytical equipment is 4 m³ and the total weight approximately 1 tonne.

Confidentiality

Verification of the declared production range can be made by reference to records from the previous calendar year. Access to these records (eg. basic process flow information, annual or monthly production records) will be requested by the Inspection Team.

If there are any confidentiality concerns regarding documentation, industry has the right to ask that business confidential information is protected. This can be accomplished by blacking out sensitive information contained in these records. In the same way, if there are confidentiality concerns, parts of the process can be screened from view or access denied (the concept of "managed access") to parts of the operation for the same reason. The plant site must then find a way to resolve any ambiguities or concerns that might arise from such actions and must always demonstrate compliance.

As DOC declarations do not have to specify which chemicals are produced, there is no obligation to brief the Inspection Team on which chemicals are produced or to identify the raw materials used. However, if this information is not confidential, speaking freely about products and raw materials would demonstrate openness.

It is up to the National Authority Escort Team to protect the interests of the inspected plant site from unreasonable demands from the Inspection Team. It is also the National Authority Escort Team that must decide what information is necessary from the inspected site to demonstrate Canadian compliance with the obligations of the Convention.

Reports

Preliminary Findings Report

When the Preliminary Findings Report (PF) is ready, on the day after the inspection, following completion of the inspection activities, the Inspection Team will meet with site personnel and the National Authority Escort Team to review the Report and to try to resolve any outstanding ambiguities. The PF is then signed by the heads of the Inspection Team and the National Authority Escort Team. This meeting is to be completed not later than 24 hours after the completion of the inspection. The Inspection Team will then leave the site and be taken to the POE for their departure by the National Authority Escort Team.

Final Inspection Report

Not later than 10 days after the inspection, the Inspection Team is required to send to the National Authority a factual Final Inspection Report on its findings, based on the PF. Any comments from the Inspected State Party can be annexed to the Final Report, which must be sent to the Director-General no later than 30 days after completion of the inspection. The National Authority will make a copy of this Report available to the plant site that has been inspected.

While it is not expected that there will be any problems with inspections in Canada the Convention does allow for further action, if required. If the Final Report contains uncertainties or should co-operation between the National Authority and the inspectors not measure up to the standards required, the Director-General will approach the State Party for clarification. If the uncertainties cannot be removed or the facts established are of a nature to suggest that obligations under the Convention have not been met, the Director-General shall inform the Executive Council without delay.