Seveso II in the UK

Mark Maleham

tel + 44 (0)117 914 2813

e-mail mark.maleham@environment-agency.gov.uk

www.environment-agency.gov.uk

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;

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/seveso/index.htm

Competent AuthoritySeveso 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

http://www.hse.gov.uk/index.htm

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

http://www.sepa.org.uk/

Seveso I to Seveso IIWhy 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 IISingle Implementation Products Assessment of safety reports

http://www.hse.gov.uk/comah/sram/index.htm 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 GroupHSE Deputy Chief Executive

Environment Agency – Director of Operations

SEPA - Director of Environmental Protection

Joint Steering GroupHSE Unit Head Chemical Industries DivisionEnvironment Agency – Policy ManagerSEPA – Unit Manager

Operational Review GroupHSE, EA and SEPA officers groupproviding links to field teams

HSE Board of Directors

EA Board of Directors

Health & Safety Commission

Government MinisterDepartment of Work and Pensions

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Joint Competent AuthorityAssessment and Inspection teams

Safety ReportAssessment

teams

Intervention PlansIntervention topics from assessment

Plans over 5 year

Inspection programmesHSE and EA site inspectors

Plus specialist support where required

HSE 13 teams [England, Wales and Scotland]

Chemical Industries DivisionSpecialised Industries Division

EA 21 teams [England and Wales]

Area Operations

323 Top Tier sites645 Lower Tier sites[England and Wales]

156

petroleum products & similar

242industrial

gases

312 chemicals

41 explosives

42 minerals

35

waste water & waste treatment

85 distribution

18agriculture &

food

25manufacturin

g

9 electricity

3 misc

Assessment ManagerPredictive assessorsTechnical assessors

Control & InstrumentationMechanical Engineering

Human Factors

Assessment ManagerSite inspector

Environmental Risk Assessment

Environmental modelling

THE COMAH COMPETENT AUTHORITY - VISION AND AIMSThe 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 Year UK Number of

EC Reportable Accidents (ECRA)

1999 – 2000

10

2000 – 2001

4

2001 – 2002

4

2002 - 2003

3

2003 - 2004

1

2004 - 2005

0

http://www.hse.gov.uk/comah/accidents.htm

Buncefield December 2005

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)117 914 2813

e-mail mark.maleham@environment-agency.gov.uk

www.environment-agency.gov.uk