1. Challenges of Inspectors in Lessons Learned Reporting
MARK HAILWOOD
REFERAT 31 – AIR POLLUTION CONTROL, ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY

2. The Role of Seveso-Inspectors (This varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction)
Labour Inspection
Work place safety compliance (slips, trips, falls from height, etc.)
Exposure to hazardous substances
Pressure vessels, explosive atmospheres, etc.
Accident investigation
Environmental Inspection
Industrial Emissions Directive (IED)-Permits
IED-Inspections
Other environmental permits
Seveso Inspection
On-site inspection
Safety report assessment
On-Site emergency planning / coordination with off-site emergency planning
Land-Use planning advice
Seveso Accident Investigation

3. The Role of Seveso-Inspectors (Conclusions)
Seveso inspectors generally have a wide range of tasks to fulfil
The roles listed may be divided between different authorities or shared between different individuals / departments within the same authority.
Major Accidents do not occur very frequently:
Lack of experience in accident investigation
Lack of training in accident investigation methods / tools
Major accident investigation may not be carried out by the inspector directly:
Requirement may be placed on operator to carry out investigation
Investigations may be carried out by 3rd party consultants
Seveso investigation may be related to a criminal investigation (the Seveso Inspector may be part of this investigation or separate)

4. Challenges Major accidents are (usually) complex events:
Technical factors
Organisational / Management factors
External factors
Resources are limited:
Time available (due to other inspection / enforcement activities and roles)
Competency and experience of inspectors
Suitable tools
Role of inspectors in developing lessons learned often poorly defined:
Lessons learned can often only be seen from the “broader picture” and may need a degree of distance.
Lessons learned need to be separated from:
Blame – legal liability of a person / entity
Measures adopted

5. Thank you for your attention.