Health and Safety Executive

Health and Safety Executive

Seveso III DirectiveMoving from Seveso II to Seveso III

Sandra Ashcroft, HSE

19 March 2013

Background to Seveso Directive

• Seveso I adopted in 1982 to control major accident hazards

• Current COMAH Regs 1999 and planning legislation implement Seveso II

• Seveso III necessary as CHIP being replaced by CLP by 2015

• Overall purpose & approach to stay the same– Identification of sites, controls and mitigation

• European Commission also took opportunity to modernise the Directive– Public info– Access to justice– Public participation– Inspections

Current situation

• Seveso III adopted on 4th July 2012 http://ec.europe.eu/environment/seveso/index.htm

• New COMAH Regs to be in force from 1June 2015

• Key issues:

• Scope • Public information• Inspection• Lack of correction system for

substances moving in or out of scope

What will stay the same?

• Lot of changes but many are subtle

• Seveso III will continue to ensure high levels of protection

• Inspection – maintained flexible risk/hazard based

inspection frequencies – BUT need to think about how they can

be linked to other inspections under EU legislation

What are the main changes?

• Scope – some changes eg new named substances, HFOs

• Information to the Public

• Emergency Plans – because of scope, and– Requirement to consult

• Notifications – who will need to re-notify

Scope

• Early indications – only a small movement of sites coming into/going out of scope

• Helpful amendments on named substances

• Determining whether the Directive applies will be more complex

Public information

• Culture shift!

• Available electronically and kept up to date

• More requirements than before

• Public info on safety measures for all establishments (not just top tier as present)

• Confidentiality & security issues

• Access to justice

Transitional arrangements

• Notifications – who will need to re-notify– Implications for HSC

• Safety Reports

• Emergency plans

• Confidentiality

Question on notifications

• Do you accept the need to re-notify under COMAH 2015 with CLP info?

• Can see another way of doing it to reduce the burden on operators?

• Do you only have on site named substances from the named substance list in COMAH?

Timetable

• Now – end of 2013 – informal consultation with industry and

stakeholders– Research Group for impact assessment

• Early 2014 – formal consultation; heavy fuel oils amendment to COMAH Regs 1999

• Early 2015 – lay Regulations & publication of guidance

• 1 June 2015 – new COMAH Regs enter into force

Government policy

• Copy-out

• Gold-plating

• Government view on guidance

• UK influence on original Seveso Directive

Question on inspection

• Would it be beneficial to your site to link COMAH inspection with environmental inspection where possible– Just with Environmental Permitting

Regs & Scottish equivalent?– More general with other environmental

inspection regimes?

• Do you perceive it to be more burdensome to link COMAH inspections with other regimes?

Sources of information

• Seveso website www.hse.gov.uk/seveso/ revised and will continue to be updated. Current features include;

- information about Seveso III

- implications for business

- FAQs

• Seveso ebulletin http://www.hse.gov.uk/seveso/bulletin.htm

• Guidance

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

• Any questions

• Thank you for listening