Reference Clauses of the Act : Art. 5, para. (1) and Art. 9
It means a person who falls under any of the following items and has acquired permission from the prefectural governor:
(1) a person who intends to produce high pressure gas using equipment capable of processing a gas by compression, liquefaction, or other means at a volume (which means a volume of a gas in a state of being at a temperature of 0 degrees Celsius and a pressure 0 Pa (gauge pressure)) of not less than 100 m3 (or 300 m3 when only equipment for Class 1 Gas is installed or a volume in the range of more than 100 m3 and not more than 300 m3 as specified in Article 102 of the General High Pressure Gas Safety Ordinance when pieces of equipment for Class 1 Gas and gas other than Class 1 Gas are installed) per diem (except for persons who intend to produce high pressure gas for the purpose of refrigeration (including heating by means of refrigeration equipment; hereinafter the same applies in item (2))); and
(2) a person who intends to produce high pressure gas using equipment with a refrigerating capacity of not less than 20 tons (or 50 tons when carbon dioxide, fluorocarbon, or ammonia is used as refrigerant gas) per diem by compressing or liquefying gas for the purpose of refrigeration.
In that case, the processed volume of the equipment referred to in item (1) should be calculated based not on the equipment’s nominal capacity but based on the equipment’s capacity to run per diem (24 hours) actually (when the equipment runs for 24 hours irrespective of its actual running time) irrespective of restrictions due to power circumstances, the raw material situation, the company’s operation situation, and other external conditions for the equipment.
In addition, the “refrigeration” referred to in item (2) means freezing, cooling, or air-conditioning, such as cold storage and ice manufacture, or heating by means of equipment therefor and does not include refrigeration used to produce high pressure gas for purposes other than refrigeration defined under the Act (the case referred to in item (1)) (e.g. cooling of a storage vessel/storage tank for high pressure gas).
Moreover, Class 1 Producers shall have various obligations, including going through a Completion Inspection and a Safety Inspection, establishment and reporting of a Hazard Prevention Rule, drawing up of a Safety Training Program for employees and provision of safety training according to the said Safety Training Program, appointment of a Safety Controller and Other Personnel, and conducting of Periodical Self Inspections. The term “Class 1 Producer” is defined in Article 9 of the Act.