On 14th June the European Parliament (EP) adopted the report (599 for, 12 against, 6 abstentions), drafted by János Áder, on behalf of Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), at the Plenary in Strasbourg.

Report on the proposal for a directive on control of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances (COM(2010)0781 – C7-0011/2011 – 2010/0377(COD))

On July 10th 1976 there was an explosion at a small chemical manufacturing plant which was situated near the Italian town of Sveseo (population 17,000), approximately nine miles to the north of Milan. This disaster, which led to the highest known exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in residential populations, gave rise to a number of scientific studies, many of which are still ongoing, and the standardisation of industrial safety regulations. Unfortunately there have been a number of major industrial accidents notably "Bhopal (India, 1984), Schweizerhalle (Switzerland, 1986), Enschede (Netherlands, 2000), Toulouse (France, 2001) and Buncefield (United Kingdom, 2005), have taken many lives, destroyed public and private properties and damaged the environment, resulting in costs up to billions of euro. To reduce the likelihood and the consequences of such accidents the EU first adopted Directive 82/501/EEC (Seveso I Directive) and later the current Directive 96/82/EC (Seveso II Directive; amended by Directive 2003/105/EC, covering around 10.000 establishments where dangerous substances (or mixtures thereof) are present in sufficiently large quantities to create a major-accident hazard." (Áder Report) (The UK's Flixborough Disaster occurred prior to these in 1974.)

The safety regulations contained in the Seveso II Directive obligate plant operators, in all Member States, to prevent accidents and limit the consequences of any that may occur. These vary depending on how hazardous the substance is and o n what quantities are involved. Operators also have to have plans in the event of an emergency. The reason behind the proposal is that the current Directive, which has remained virtually unchanged since 1982, has to be amended because of the changes in the EU system of classification of dangerous substances to which the Directive refers. This latest amendment is the result of a wide ranging review that was inaugurated in 2008. "Although the review has shown that that overall the existing provisions are fit for purpose and that no major changes are required, a number of areas were identified where limited amendments would be appropriate in order to clarify and update certain provisions and to improve implementation and enforceability while maintaining or slightly increasing the level of protection for health and environment." (COM(2010)0781)

On 4th October 2011 ENVI adopted the report, drafted by János Áder (52 for, 3 against, 0 abstentions), with recommendations in the following areas:

Delegated acts:

Derogations:

Scope:

Definitions:

General obligations of the operator:

Notification:

Major-accident prevention policy (MAPP):

Domino effect:

Safety report:

Information to the public:

Public consultation and participation in decision-making:

Information to be supplied by the operator following a major accident:

Forum:

Inspections:

Reporting:

Access to information:

Access to justice:

Amendment of Annexes:

Review:

Annexes:

The Impact Assessment can be read here and the Summary of the Impact Assessment here

The Report can be read here

Or alternatively visit the website: http://www.europarl.europa.eu

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