HC Deb 02 December 1992 vol 215 cc221-2W
Mr. Bill Michie

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to her answer of 19 October,Official Report, column 114, what sorts of information relating to accidents at installations covered by the Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1984 are held by the Health and Safety Executive; what arrangements have been made for the analysis of information relating to accidents at such sites; and if she will make a statement.

Mr. McLoughlin

In respect of accidents at an installation subject to the Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazard Regulations 1984—CIMAH—that are defined as major accidents by regulation 2, the Health and Safety Executive—HSE—holds information provided by manufacturers in accordance with regulation 5(1). This requires that where a major accident occurs on a site, the manufacturer should notify the HSE and provide the following information as soon as it becomes available:

  • The circumstances of the accident;
  • The dangerous substances involved;
  • The data available for assessing the effects of the accident on persons and the environment;
  • The emergency measures taken;
  • A statement of the steps envisaged to alleviate the medium or long term effects of the major accident, if any and the steps necessary to prevent a recurrence.

In accordance with regulation 5(2) of CIMAH, the HSE is responsible for collecting information about major accidents to enable a full analysis to be made. The HSE complies with this requirement by investigating every major accident that occurs on a site subject to CIMAH, determining the cause, collecting information and sending a report to the European Commission for entering on a database used for accident prevention purposes. An analysis of such reports is sent to the competent authorities annually.

In respect of sites subject to CIMAH, the HSE also holds information on other accidents and dangerous occurrences not reportable under CIMAH, but which may be reportable to the HSE under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1985. These are included in the statistical analysis published by the HSE in its annual reports.

Additionally the HSE uses the major hazard incident data service maintained by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority's safety and reliability directorate—SRD—funded jointly by the HSE and SRD.

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