§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will establish an urgent review of the emergency planning arrangements for(a) industrial plants and (b) nuclear plants in Wales to take account of the recent industrial accident at Avonmouth. [2124]
§ Mr. Gwilym JonesThe monitoring of emergency planning arrangements is a matter for the Health and Safety Executive. Sites with significant chemical hazards are already required to prepare on-site emergency plans under the Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazard Regulations 1984. The regulations also require the appropriate local authority within whose area such a site fails to prepare and keep up-to-date an off-site emergency plan.
The operators of nuclear power stations are required under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 and 1969 to have an emergency plan approved by the Health and Safety Executive for each installation and to exercise these arrangements regularly.
Two new European directives, covering the control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances and basic safety standards, will have relevance for emergency planning requirements over the coming years.