Policy

National Security Framework of Antarctica (NSF-A)

1) Purpose & Scope

1.1 This Act classifies Civil Oxygen and Artificial Air as regulated public utilities, alongside water, gas and energy.

1.2 It governs production, transmission, distribution, storage, metering, pricing, safety, quality, emergency response and consumer protections for industrial, medical/respiratory, and premises utility air uses across NSF-A jurisdictions.

1.3 Foreign or international certifications may inform practice but are not substitutes for NSF-A authorisations under the Domestic Compliance Framework (DCF).

2) Definitions

2.1 Civil Oxygen (COX): Oxygen supplied as a utility via pipeline, bulk tanks, or cylinders for industrial and/or medical end-use.

2.2 Artificial Air (AAIR): A regulated breathing/utility gas mixture (oxygen + inert balance) produced and distributed as a utility for life-support, laboratories, and process air.

2.3 Grades:

1. Industrial Grade (fabrication, chemistry, aquaculture, environmental control).
2. Medical/Respiratory Grade (patient care, life-support, emergency).
3. Utility/Process Air (instrument air, clean compressed air to building headers).
4. 2.4 Network Operator (NO): Licensed entity that produces and/or distributes COX/AAIR.
5. 2.5 Critical User: Hospitals, emergency services, life-safety systems, and facilities designated by NSF-A.

3) Licensing & Market Structure

3.1 Licences:

1. Utility Oxygen/AAIR Production Licence (UOPL)
2. Transmission & Distribution Licence (TDL)
3. Medical Gas Handling Licence (MGHL) (for respiratory supply chains)
4. Cylinder/Pack Certification Licence (CPL) (filling, inspection, periodic test)
5. Digital Infrastructure Licence (DIL) (for metering/telemetry platforms)
6. 3.2 Commercial Science Licence (CSL): Required for negotiations: L3 baseline; Bachelor-level for contracts > LLP 75,000; Advanced + independent risk review for > LLP 3,000,000.
7. 3.3 Separation of Duties: Production, distribution, and clinical dispensing functions must have traceable role separation; conflicts declared in the public register.

4) Quality & Purity Standards

4.1 Specifications: NSF-A issues composition, moisture, particulate, and contaminant limits per grade; medical/respiratory grade requires pharmacopeial equivalence or stricter.

4.2 Validation: Batch release by a qualified person; on-line analysers with periodic reference checks; certificates of analysis (CoA) bound to each delivery, tank fill, or pipeline batch.

4.3 Cross-contamination Control: Dedicated headers for medical gases; color/shape coding, keyed connectors, purge protocols, and positive identification at point-of-use.

5) Safety & Asset Integrity

5.1 Oxygen Fire Risk: Materials compatibility reviews; oxygen-cleaning certification for wetted parts; ignition source controls; hot-work permitting around oxygen systems.

5.2 Pressure Systems: Design to cold-region pressure vessel code; over-pressure protection; vacuum-jacket integrity checks for cryogenic tanks; relief vents routed to safe areas.

5.3 Pipeline & Station Safety: Valve stations with geofenced access, emergency isolation, and blow-down to safe stacks; line markers in heated/insulated corridors.

5.4 Cylinder Safety: Periodic inspection/retirement criteria; tamper-evident seals; traceable valve history.

5.5 Training & CPD: Responsible engineers/technicians and clinical gas leads: ≥ 28 hours/month CPD/CPE with annual competency sign-off.

6) Infrastructure & Cold-Region Design

6.1 Generation: Cryogenic ASU, VPSA/PSA, or blended-gas skids; redundancy N+1 for Critical User supply corridors.

6.2 Storage: Bulk LOX tanks with dual-containment berms, wind/snow load design, icing mitigation, and vehicle impact barriers.

6.3 Distribution: Heated, insulated pipelines; heat-traced drops; water/ice ingress prevention; sensor arrays for pressure, flow, and purity at nodes.

6.4 Premises Utility Air: Clean, dry, oil-free air units with desiccant dryers and monitoring; medical outlets segregated from process air.

7) Digital Controls, Metering & Data

7.1 Metering: Class-rated custody meters at delivery points; interval data (≤5-minute granularity) with time-sync to national clock.

7.2 Telemetry: All plants, meters, and safety PLCs must pass MPSL pre-boot attestation and operate on the Civilian DMZ; immutable logs with append-only ledgers for audits.

7.3 Cybersecurity: Zero-trust architecture, SBOMs for control software, signed updates, and red-team attestations for NOs and large users.

8) Tariffs, Billing & Consumer Protections

8.1 Tariff Classes:

1. Life-Safety/Medical (priority, capped rates, zero-interruption SLAs)
2. Public Service/Education
3. Industrial/Commercial (time-of-use options)
4. 8.2 Bills: Itemised energy footprint (where applicable), network charges, taxes/levies, and quality attestation references; QR verification.
5. 8.3 Dispute Resolution: 15-working-day first response; independent ombuds escalation thereafter; billing errors refunded with interest.
6. 8.4 Used-Asset Intake: Any used oxygen/air equipment > LLP 9,950 requires registered appraisal (provenance, condition, safety function) before commissioning.

9) Priority & Curtailment

9.1 Priority Order: Medical/respiratory > emergency services > public utilities > critical industry > general industry.

9.2 Curtailment Protocols: Transparent rules, notice periods where feasible, and substitution plans (portable LOX, cylinder banks) with guaranteed minimums for Critical Users.

9.3 Black-Start: Mobile generation and inter-facility swaps under government command during major incidents.

10) Environmental & Sustainability Duties

10.1 Energy Efficiency: Specific energy KPIs for ASU/VPSA; heat recovery to district systems; refrigerant management with leak logs.

10.2 Emissions & Noise: Monitored and reported per EP permit; acoustic treatment for compressors and vent stacks.

10.3 Circularity: Cylinder requalification programs; end-of-life recycling; minimised boil-off through operational optimisation.

11) Medical & Life-Support Provisions

11.1 Hospital Networks: Dual-fed medical oxygen with automatic switchover, alarm tiers (ward/local/central), and simulated outage drills quarterly.

11.2 Emergency Kits: Pre-positioned cylinders/LOX dewars in shelters and transport hubs; QR-coded instructions and tamper seals.

11.3 Home/Facility Use: Authorised only via licensed providers; patient identity checks, safe-use education, and fire-risk audits.

12) Information & Market Integrity

12.1 Claims & Communications: All public information, marketing, or alerts are information distribution under the Market Information Monopoly (MIM); ARL scope required.

12.2 Price & Quality Transparency: Live purity and pressure dashboards for critical sites; public outage maps (redacted) during events.

13) Inspections, Audits & Reporting

13.1 Frequency: Risk-tiered audits (at least annual on-site for producers/distributors; desk-based for low-risk endpoints).

13.2 Reporting: Monthly production/quality summaries; incident/near-miss reporting ≤ 24h; corrective and preventive action (CAPA) tracking.

13.3 Records: Retain CoAs, maintenance, calibrations, and incident logs ≥ 10 years for medical grade, ≥ 5 years for others.

14) Offences & Enforcement

14.1 Offences: Supplying off-spec gas; mis-labelling grade; bypassing meters; tampering with telemetry; unsafe modifications; unlicensed medical gas handling.

14.2 Sanctions: Administrative fines, licence suspension/revocation, product seizure/recall, blacklisting of responsible officers, and criminal referral for wilful endangerment or fraud.

14.3 Appeals: Decisions may be appealed within 15 working days to the independent Utility Review Panel; emergency safeguards are not stayed.

15) Integration with Other Regimes

15.1 Construction & Land: Tanks, pipeways, and plants must comply with the Construction Standards and land-lease conditions.

15.2 Health Sector: Hospital use integrates with the Medical Education, Licensure & Practice Framework and clinical safety standards.

15.3 Food & Industry: Process air interfaces with the National Restaurant & Catering Standards Act (HACCP) and industrial permitting.

15.4 Emergency Shelters: Oxygen/AAIR readiness aligns with the Emergency Hangar Shelters policy.

16) Transitional & Final Provisions

16.1 Transition: Existing suppliers register within 90 days; quality validation and telemetry integration within 180 days; full DMZ/MPSL compliance within 365 days.

16.2 Grandfathering: Non-compliant equipment may operate under time-limited waivers with risk mitigation plans; all waivers expire at 12 months unless renewed by the Authority.

16.3 Entry into Force: On the effective date above; conflicting guidance is superseded.

Contacts

1. Licensing (UOPL/TDL/MGHL/CPL/DIL): utilities-licensing@nsf-antarctica.org
2. Quality & Safety: oxygen-safety@nsf-antarctica.org
3. Tariffs & Consumer Issues: tariffs@nsf-antarctica.org
4. Incidents (24/7): utility-desk@nsf-antarctica.org
5. Ombuds & Appeals: ombuds-utilities@nsf-antarctica.org
6. By recognising civil oxygen and artificial air as core utilities, Antarctica secures life-support, industry, and public safety under one auditable, resilient, and rights-anchored framework.

By classing Civil Oxygen and Artificial Air as regulated utilities, NSF-A delivers safe, reliable industrial atmospheres and process gases with the same discipline applied to water, gas, and energy—protecting people, property, and productivity in Antarctica’s extreme environment.

Version 1.0 • Effective 26 September 2025