§ Mr. Watsonasked the Secretary of State for Employment what further action he proposes to control the potential hazards to the health and safety of workers and the public arising from major industrial plants.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyMy right hon. Friend has today laid before the House the Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1984, S.I. No. 1902, which implement the European Community directive on the control of major accident hazards, known as the Seveso directive. These new regulations are part of a framework of controls for industrial major hazards which has been developed in Great Britain over the past decade by the Health and Safety Commission, assisted by its advisory committee on major hazards, and Departments with responsibility for town and country planning. These new controls, which will be enforced by the Health and Safety 103W Executive, aim further to reduce the likelihood of major industrial accidents and to minimise the consequences of any incident. Their provisions will protect both people and the environment.
The main impact of these regulations in Great Britain will be on larger chemical and petro-chemical installations handling more than specified amounts of certain flammable, explosive or toxic substances. Such installations will be required to notify the Health and Safety Executive of details of their activities and to submit a written report, or safety case, about their operations. They must also prepare adequate emergency plans for use on their sites and tell the people who live nearby, and who might be affected by an accident, about the nature of the hazard and what to do if an accident did occur. The local (county) authorities are similarly required to prepare an emergency plan to deal with any off-site consequence. Finally, any major accidents which occur must be reported to the Health and Safety Executive which will report them, in turn, to the European Commission for the mutual benefit of all member states.
These regulations implement a European directive which is also being put into practice in all the other member states of the Community. The co-operation between member states, in which Great Britain is playing a full part, should help to share knowledge and experience so that our countries can reap the benefits of advanced, technological industries without running undue or unnecessary' risks.