Opening seminar for the project“Implementation of the Seveso

II Directive (96/82/EC)”

Bratislava, Slovakia, 28-29 April 2003

The “Seveso II” Directive – an overview including the

ongoing amendment of the Directive

A long history of major accidents ...A long history of major accidents ...

1974: Flixborough, United Kingdom1976: Seveso, Italy1982: Original « Seveso Directive » adopted1984: Bhopal, India1986: Basel, Switzerland9 Dec 1996: « Seveso II Directive » adopted3 Feb 1999: « Seveso II » must be applied in

the Member States of the European Union30 Jan 2000: Baia Mare, Romania15 May 2000: Enschede, Netherlands21 Sep 2001: Toulouse, France

Control of products

Nuclear Safety

Seveso Directives

Chemical Plant Safety

Control of processes

Industrial Risk Management

Overview

Seveso II - AimSeveso II - Aim

prevention of major accidents involving dangerous substances

limitation of the consequences of accidents on man and the environment

high level of protectionfor man and the environment throughout the European Union

Scope and main obligations of Seveso IIScope and main obligations of Seveso II

Excluded Sector? (Article 4)

Seveso does not apply

What is the quantity of dangerous substances?

(Annex I)

Lower than lower tier

•Notification•Major Accident Prevention Policy (MAPP)•Domino Effects•Land-use planning•Inspection

Quantity above the lower threshold

Additionally:•Safety report (including MAPP and Safety Management System)•Emergency plans (internal and external)•Information to the public

Quantity above the higher threshold

Yes

No

Control measures aimed at Control measures aimed at PreventionPrevention

Upper and lower tier: General obligations Notification Major Accident Prevention Policy Domino Effects Inspection by Competent Authorities

For upper tier only: Safety Report Safety Management System

Control measures aimed atControl measures aimed atlimitation of the consequenceslimitation of the consequences

Upper and lower tier: General obligations Land-use planning

For upper tier only: Emergency planning Information to the public

General Comparison

UN/ECE Industrial Accidents

Convention International law binding for the

Parties, i.e. those UN/ECE member countries that• ratify• accept• approve or• accede to

the Convention

SEVESO II

European law binding for the 15

Member States of the European Union

binding for the EEA countries (Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein)EEA = Treaty on the European Economic Area

Ratification/Implementation of the UN/ECE Convention in the EU requires ...

within the sphere of competence of the Community according to the EC Treaty: Community legislation = Seveso II Directive (96/82/EC)

outside the sphere of competence of the Community (example: civil protection): national legislation in each Member State

Procedures for Ratification/Implementation

Approval on behalf of the Community decided by Council of Environment Ministers on 23 March 1998

Deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations on 24 April 1998

Ratification by each Member State (so far Luxembourg, Spain, Greece, Germany, Austria, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Italy and United Kingdom)

Slovakia has not yet acceded !!

Consistency of “Seveso II” with the UN/ECE Convention

Both instruments aim at the prevention of major industrial accidents

involving dangerous substances limitation of the consequences of such

accidents on man and the environment

In the case of transboundary effects:Co-operation between UN/ECE countries and/or EU Member States before, during and after an accident

Government

Transpositioninto national laws,regulations and

administrative provisions

Operators Authorities

Practical applicationand enforcement of

laws, regulations andadministrative provisions

"Implementation" ?

What means ...

Role of theEuropean Commission

is the “Guardian of the EC Treaty” does not apply SEVESO II directly supports and controls transposition

of SEVESO II into national laws and their application

reports to Council and European Parliament on implementation

Committee of Competent Authorities (CCA) meets twice each year

Major-Accident Hazards Bureau (MAHB) MoU between the Commission and the

Joint Research Centre (JRC) in 1994 established within IPSC at JRC in

Ispra, Italy has three main tasks:

• Major-Accident Reporting System (MARS) and Seveso Plant Information Retrieval System (SPIRS)

• Community Documentation Centre on Industrial Risks (CDCIR)

• scientific and administrative support for Technical Working Groups (TWG’s)

Guidance documents availablefrom MAHB (http://mahbsrv.jrc.it)

Guidance on the preparation of a Safety Report to the requirements of the Seveso II Directive

Guidance concerning information to the public

Guidelines on a Major Accident Prevention Policy and Safety Management System

Guidance on Land-use Planning Explanations and Guidelines for the

application of Article 9 (6) of the Seveso II Directive on harmonised criteria for dispensations

Guidance on Inspections

Objective 1: Give principles of “good practice”

Objective 2: Develop a Technical Database of accident scenarios, event frequencies and risk/hazard assessment data

Objective 3: Examine additional safety measures

Objective 4: Address pre-existing situations of concern between Seveso sites and residential and other sensitive areas

Objective 5: Assess the sufficiency of information in Notification / Safety Report

New Working Group on Land-Use New Working Group on Land-Use PlanningPlanning

Agreed ObjectivesAgreed Objectives

OutcomeOutcome

Agreed Terms-of-Reference

Good progress with all of the Objectives

Initiation of data/information collection

New Working Group on Land-Use New Working Group on Land-Use PlanningPlanningMeetingsMeetings

1st meeting, Plenary Working GroupPlenary Working Group: 9-10 September 2002

1st meeting, Subgroup of Risk Assessment Experts for Subgroup of Risk Assessment Experts for Objective 2Objective 2: 6-7 February 2003

2nd meeting, Plenary Working GroupPlenary Working Group: 10-11 March 2003

Next meetings: SubgroupSubgroup: 8-9 July 2003 / PlenaryPlenary: November 2003

Other instruments supporting implementation

Seveso Plants Information Retrieval System (SPIRS)• European map of Seveso plants• also contains a risk assessment tool

Mutual Joint Visits Programme (MJV) in the field of inspections• “experts visit experts”• 3-4 visits per year of different

Member States in a rotation system Reporting

Amendment of Seveso II “Baia Mare” - inclusion of certain mining

activities, including tailings management facilities

“Enschede” - better definition of explosive and pyrotechnic substances, decrease of qualifying quantities

“Toulouse” - replacement of the two current entries on ammonium nitrate by 4 new categories, with new qualifying quantities

Extension of list of carcinogens in Annex I, Part 1, along with new qualifying quantities

Lower qualifying quantities for substances dangerous to the aquatic environment (Annex I, Part 2)

State of play Proposal adopted by Commission on 10

December 2001 (COM(2001) 624 final) European Parliament adopts opinion in

1st reading on 3 July 2002 Commission adopts Amended Proposal

on 26 September 2002 (COM(2002) 540 final)

Council adopts Common Position on 20 February 2003

To come: 2nd reading in European Parliament

Contact details:Jürgen WettigEuropean CommissionEnvironment Directorate-GeneralUnit ENV.D.3 (Civil Protection)B-1049 BrusselsTel/Fax: (+32-2)

296.91.49/299.03.14E-mail: Juergen.Wettig@cec.eu.inthttp://europa.eu.int/comm/

environment/seveso/index.htm