Seveso II in the UK Mark Maleham tel + 44 (0)

Seveso II Article 3 [5] Definition of “Major Accident” ‘major accident’ shall mean an occurrence such as a major emission, fire, or explosion resulting from uncontrolled developments in the course of the operation of any establishment covered by this Directive, and leading to serious danger to human health and/or the environment, immediate or delayed, inside or outside the establishment, and involving one or more dangerous substances;

Competent Authority Seveso II duties  Assess safety reports  Prohibit use [if measures are seriously deficient]  Organise inspections  Take enforcement  Provide information

Seveso I to Seveso II  Seveso I – UK Competent Authority Health & Safety Executive  Seveso II – UK Competent Authority Health & Safety Executive and the Environment Agency [England & Wales]

Seveso I to Seveso II Why a joint Competent Authority ?  Seveso II introduced more explicit requirements for the environment  “dangerous for the environment” generic category  Industry integration of health, safety and environment policy and practice  Overlap of IPPC accident prevention objectives with COMAH  Formation of Environment Agency

Implementation of Seveso II Single Implementation Products  Assessment of safety reports  Inspection planning and procedures  Enforcement and prosecution policy  Analysis of reportable major accidents  Land Use Planning  Emergency planning  Providing information  Guidance  CA communications [internal and external]  Training

The underlying factors of a Major Accident lie in aspects common to “human safety” and the “environment”, be these mechanical, electrical and control, process safety or human factors. In the context of major accidents and their prevention ‘environment’ is not treated as a separate discipline to ‘health and safety’. Joint Competent Authority

UK Joint Competent Authority organisation Joint Coordination Group HSE Deputy Chief Executive Environment Agency – Director of Operations SEPA - Director of Environmental Protection Joint Steering Group HSE Unit Head Chemical Industries Division Environment Agency – Policy Manager SEPA – Unit Manager Operational Review Group HSE, EA and SEPA officers group providing links to field teams HSE Board of Directors EA Board of Directors Health & Safety Commission Government Minister Department of Work and Pensions Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Joint Competent Authority Assessment and Inspection teams Safety Report Assessment teams Intervention Plans Intervention topics from assessment Plans over 5 year Inspection programmes HSE and EA site inspectors Plus specialist support where required HSE 13 teams [England, Wales and Scotland] Chemical Industries Division Specialised Industries Division EA 21 teams [England and Wales] Area Operations 323 Top Tier sites 645 Lower Tier sites [England and Wales] 156 petroleum products & similar 242industrial gases 312chemicals 41explosives 42minerals 35 waste water & waste treatment 85distribution 18 agriculture & food 25manufacturing 9electricity 3misc Assessment Manager Predictive assessors Technical assessors Control & Instrumentation Mechanical Engineering Human Factors Assessment Manager Site inspector Environmental Risk Assessment Environmental modelling

THE COMAH COMPETENT AUTHORITY - VISION AND AIMS The Vision is to:  To promote and enforce COMAH in an efficient and effective manner to protect people and the environment. The Aims are:  To improve Health and Safety and Environmental Performance.  To enforce the regulations in a firm, proportionate and consistent way by means of a clear and agreed enforcement policy.  To ensure the level of effort required of the Competent Authority, industry and stakeholders is commensurate with the hazards and risks.  To be responsive to industry and other stakeholders.  To have clear, consistent and open communication with industry and other stakeholders.  To provide an effective and consistent service with no unnecessary duplication.  To have excellent receptive relationships between all parts of the Competent Authority which are supported by consistent communications.

Seveso II 1999 – 2008 YearUK Number of EC Reportable Accidents (ECRA) 1999 – – –

Buncefield December 2005

Performance of the UK Joint Competent Authority  Combining health and safety with environment expertise  Time taken to assess safety reports  Operation of safety report assessment teams  Integrated intervention planning  Integrated decisions making of the Joint Competent Authority  Is Seveso II strong enough?

Seveso II in the UK Mark Maleham tel + 44 (0)