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Chemical
Accidents (Seveso II) - Prevention, Preparedness and Response
The Seveso
accident
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The
"Seveso" accident happened in 1976 at a
chemical plant in Seveso, Italy, manufacturing pesticides
and herbicides. A dense vapour cloud containing
tetrachlorodibenzoparadioxin (TCDD) was released from
a reactor, used for the production of trichlorofenol.
Commonly known as dioxin, this was a poisonous and
carcinogenic by-product of an uncontrolled exothermic
reaction. Although no immediate fatalities were
reported, kilogramme quantities of the substance lethal
to man even in microgramme doses were widely dispersed
which resulted in an immediate contamination of some
ten square miles of land and vegetation. More
than 600 people had to be evacuated from their homes
and as many as 2000 were treated for dioxin poisoning. |
What happened
next?
In
1982, Council Directive 82/501/EEC – so-called Seveso
Directive – was adopted. In the light of severe accidents
at the Union Carbide factory at Bhopal, India in 1984 where
a leak of methyl isocyanate caused more than 2500 deaths
and at the Sandoz warehouse in Basel, Switzerland in 1986
where fire-fighting water contaminated with mercury, organophosphate
pesticides and other chemicals caused massive pollution
of the Rhine and the death of half a million fish, the Seveso
Directive was amended twice and ultimately was updated in
1996 when the so-called Seveso II Directive - was
adopted. Member States had up to two years to bring
into force the national laws, regulations and administrative
provisions to comply with the Directive. From 3 February
1999, the obligations of the Directive have become mandatory
for industry as well as the public authorities of the Member
States responsible for the implementation and enforcement
of the Directive.
What
issues must be addressed by the safety management system?
To
comply with the requirements of Seveso II the operator of
a site containing dangerous substances must implement a
safety management system which includes as a minimum:
- organisation and
personnel, i.e. the roles and responsibilities of personnel
involved in the management of major hazards at all levels
in the organisation. The identification of training
needs of such personnel and the provision of the training
so identified. The involvement of employees and subcontracted
personnel working in the establishment
- identification
and evaluation of major hazards, i.e. adoption and implementation
of procedures for systematically identifying major hazards
arising from normal and abnormal operation and the assessment
of their likelihood and severity
- operational control,
i.e. adoption and implementation of procedures and instructions
for safe operation, including maintenance, of plant,
processes, equipment and temporary stoppages
- management of
change, i.e. adoption and implementation of procedures
for planning modifications to, or the design of new
installations, processes or storage facilities
- planning for emergencies,
i.e. adoption and implementation of procedures to identify
foreseeable emergencies by systematic analysis and to
prepare, test and review emergency plans to respond
to such emergencies and to provide specific training
to the staff concerned. The training to be given to
all staff including relevant sub-contracted staff
- monitoring performance,
i.e. adoption and implementation of procedures for the
ongoing assessment of compliance with the objectives
set by the operator’s major accident prevention
policy and safety management system, and the mechanisms
for investigation and taking corrective action in case
of non-compliance. The procedures should cover the operator’s
system for reporting major accidents of near misses,
particularly those involving failure of protective measures,
and their investigation and follow-up on the basis of
lessons learnt
- audit and review,
i.e. adoption and implementation of procedures for periodic
systematic assessment of the major-accident prevention
policy and the effectiveness and suitability of the
safety management system; the documented review of performance
of the policy and safety management system and its updating
by senior management.
Does Seveso II apply
to your facility? – Call Jordan Business Systems and
make sure you fulfil your legal obligations
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