Source: https://www.global-regulation.com/law/united-kingdom/4940606/the-control-of-major-accident-hazards-regulations-%2528northern-ireland%2529-2015.html
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The Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 (United Kingdom)
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment(1), being the Department concerned(2), makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 (“the 1972 Act”)(3) and Articles 17(1) to (6)(4), 40(2) to (4), 54(1) and 55(2) of, and paragraphs 1(1) and (2), 14, 15 and 19 of Schedule 3 to the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978(5) (“the 1978 Order”).
The Department was designated(6) for the purposes of section 2(2) of the 1972 Act in relation to measures relating to the prevention and limitation of the effects of accidents involving dangerous substances.
The Regulations give effect to proposals submitted to it by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland under Article 13(1A)(7) of the 1978 Order after the Executive had carried out consultations in accordance with Article 46(3)(8).
(a)the modifications to the subordinate legislation referred to in Schedule 6; and
(b)the revocations in relation to the instruments referred to in Schedule 7,
are expedient for the purposes of Article 54(1) of the 1978 Order.
It also appears to the Department not to be appropriate to consult bodies in respect of those revocations and modifications for the purposes of Article 54(5) of the 1978 Order.
These Regulations make provision for a purpose mentioned in section 2(2) of the 1972 Act and it appears to the Department that it is expedient for the references in these Regulations to Regulation (EC) No. 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008(9) on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures amending and repealing Directives 67/548/EEC and 1999/45/EC and amending Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006, to be construed as including references to Annex I, Part 1.0, 1.1, Parts 2 to 4 and, Annex VI, Part 3 Table 3.1 of that instrument as those provisions are amended from time to time.
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 and shall come into operation on 28th September 2015.
“ the 2000 Regulations” means the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000(10);
“CAS number” is the number assigned to a substance by the Chemical Abstracts Service(11);
“the CLP Regulation” means Regulation (EC) No. 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures amending and repealing Directives 67/548/EEC and 1999/45/EC and amending Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006, of which Annex I, Part 1.0 and 1.1, Parts 2 to 4 and, Annex VI, Part 3 Table 3.1 are to be read as amended from time to time(12);
a district council established under the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972(13);
a Health and Social Care Trust established under Article 10 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1991(14);
the Public Health Agency established under section 12 of the Health and Social Care (Reform) Act (Northern Ireland) 2009(15);
“the Directive” means Directive 2012/18/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on the control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances, amending and subsequently repealing Council Directive 96/98/EC(16);
those police, fire and rescue and ambulance services who are liable to be required to respond to an emergency at an establishment; and
“inspector” means a person appointed under Article 21 of the 1978 Order by the Executive;
an establishment that is constructed or enters into operation on or after 28th September 2015;
a site of operation which becomes an establishment to which these Regulations apply on or after 28th September 2015 due to an increase or other change in its inventory of dangerous substances;
a site of operation that becomes an establishment to which these Regulations apply on or after 28th September 2015; or
“pipelines” means pipelines to which the Pipelines Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997(17) apply;
“presence of a dangerous substance” means the actual or anticipated presence of a dangerous substance in the establishment, or of a dangerous substance which it is reasonable to foresee may be generated during loss of control of the processes, including storage activities, in any installation within the establishment, in a quantity equal to or in excess of the qualifying quantity listed in the entry for that substance in column 2 of Part 1 or column 2 of Part 2 of Schedule 1, and “where a dangerous substance is present” is to be construed accordingly;
“storage” includes warehousing, depositing in safe custody or keeping in stock;
(a)where on 27th September 2015 a dangerous substance or category of substance listed in column 1 of Parts 2 or 3 of Schedule 1 to the 2000 Regulations was present in a quantity equal to or in excess of the quantity listed in the entry for that substance in column 2 of those Parts, but less than that listed in the entry for that substance in column 3 of those Parts, where applicable using the rule laid down in note 4 to Part 3 of that Schedule, and which on 28th September 2015 was a lower tier establishment; or
(b)where on 27th September 2015 a dangerous substance or category of substance listed in column 1 of Parts 2 or 3 of Schedule 1 to the 2000 Regulations was present in a quantity equal to or in excess of the quantity listed in the entry for that substance in column 3 of those Parts, where applicable using the rule laid down in note 4 to Part 3 of that Schedule, and which on 28th September 2015 was an upper tier establishment,
(a)within paragraph (a) of the definition of that term if, on or after 28th September 2015, the establishment becomes an upper tier establishment;
(b)within paragraph (b) of the definition of that term if, on or after 28th September 2015, the establishment becomes a lower tier establishment.
(6) Where a substance listed in column 1 of Part 2 of Schedule 1 is also covered by a category in column 1 of Part 1 of that Schedule, the quantities set out in columns 2 and 3 of Part 2 shall be used.
(7) Any reference in these Regulations to “writing” includes writing which is communicated or kept in electronic form and which can be printed.
(8) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(18) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Assembly.
(ii)a headquarters or organisation designated for the purposes of the International Headquarters and Defence Organisations Act 1964(19) or the service authorities of a visiting force within the meaning of any of the provisions of Part 1 of the Visiting Forces Act 1952(20);
(ii)sites used for the storage of metallic mercury in accordance with a permit issued under Part 2 of the Pollution Prevention and Control (Industrial Emissions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013(21).
4. For the purposes of these Regulations the competent authority is the Executive and the Department of the Environment acting jointly.
5.—(1) Every operator shall take all measures necessary to prevent major accidents and to limit their consequences for human health and the environment.
(2) Every operator shall demonstrate to the competent authority that it has taken all measures necessary as specified in these Regulations.
(3) Every operator shall provide the competent authority with such assistance as is necessary to enable the competent authority to perform its functions under these Regulations.
(4) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (3), every operator shall in particular provide such assistance as is necessary to the competent authority to enable it to—
6.—(1) Within a reasonable period of time prior to the start of construction of a new establishment the operator shall send to the competent authority a notification containing the following information—
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), within a reasonable period of time prior to the start of operation of a new establishment the operator shall send to the competent authority a notification containing the information specified in paragraph (1).
(4) The operator of an existing establishment shall send to the competent authority a notification containing the information specified in paragraph (1) by 1 June 2016.
(5) The operator of an other establishment shall send to the competent authority a notification containing the information specified in paragraph (1) within one year beginning on the date on which the establishment, or site of operation, first becomes an other establishment.
(6) The operator of any establishment to which these Regulations apply shall notify the competent authority in advance of—
(7) The competent authority shall specify, in writing—
(a)the form of notification under this regulation; and
(b)the means by which operators shall send them to the competent authority.
7.—(1) Subject to paragraph (4), every operator shall prepare and retain a written major accident prevention policy.
(2) A major accident prevention policy shall—
(3) A major accident prevention policy shall be prepared by the operator—
(ii)a reasonable period of time period prior to modifications leading to a change in the inventory of dangerous substances at the establishment;
(a)the operator of an existing establishment had, immediately before 28th September 2015, prepared and retained a major accident prevention policy under regulation 5 of the 2000 Regulations;
(a)the major accident prevention policy prepared by that operator under regulation 5 of the 2000 Regulations is to be treated as a major accident prevention policy prepared under this regulation; and
(b)the policy shall be retained by the operator in accordance with this regulation.
(6) An operator shall review its major accident prevention policy—
(b)in any event no later than five years after the date on which the policy was last reviewed,
and where necessary it shall revise and retain the revised policy.
(7) An operator shall implement its major accident prevention policy by a safety management system.
(8) A safety management system shall—
8. Every operator of an upper tier establishment shall prepare a safety report for the purposes of—
9.—(1) A safety report prepared by an operator shall—
(2) The operator shall send the safety report to the competent authority—
(ii)the start of operation of the establishment; or
(b)where the establishment is a existing establishment—
(i)in any case where a review of the safety report (within the meaning of regulation 2(1) of the 2000 Regulations) would, had those Regulations not been revoked by these Regulations, have been required to be carried out by the operator before 1st June 2016, no later than five years after the relevant date;
(ii)in any other case, on or before 1st June 2016; or
(4) Where an operator had, immediately before 28th September 2015, sent to the competent authority a safety report in relation to an establishment under regulation 7 or 8 of the 2000 Regulations (“the original report”), that operator may comply with paragraph (2)(b) by sending to the competent authority only those parts of the original report that are revised to ensure compliance with regulation 8, this regulation and Schedule 3, and the original report (and its revised parts) is to be treated as a safety report sent under paragraph (2)(b).
(a)an operator had, immediately before 28th September 2015, sent to the competent authority a safety report in relation to an establishment under regulation 7 or 8 of the 2000 Regulations;
(7) Subject to regulation 23 (prohibition of operation), an operator shall not—
(8) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(b) “relevant date”, in relation to a safety report within the meaning of regulation 2(1) of the 2000 Regulations, means—
(a)the date on which the safety report was last sent to the competent authority under regulation 7 or 8(1) of those Regulations, or
10.—(1) A safety report shall be reviewed and, where it is necessary, revised by the operator—
(b)in any case where regulation 9(6) applies, no later than five years after the date on which the safety report was last sent to the competent authority under regulation 7 or 8 of the 2000 Regulations.
(2) Despite paragraph (1), a safety report shall be reviewed and, where necessary, revised by the operator—
(3) In carrying out a review of a safety report the operator shall take into account the purposes specified in regulation 8 and the data and information specified in Schedule 3.
(4) Except where paragraph (5) applies, a revised safety report, or revised parts of a report, shall be sent by the operator to the competent authority without delay.
(5) Where paragraph (2)(d) applies, a revised safety report, or revised parts of it, shall be sent by the operator to the competent authority in advance of the proposed modification.
(6) Where a safety report has been reviewed under this regulation, but not revised, the operator shall inform the competent authority in writing without delay.
11. Every internal emergency plan and external emergency plan prepared for the purposes of these Regulations shall have the following objectives—
12.—(1) Every operator of an upper tier establishment shall prepare an internal emergency plan, specifying the measures to be taken inside the establishment.
(2) An internal emergency plan shall be prepared by the operator—
(a)where the establishment is a new establishment, within a reasonable period of time prior to the start of operation of the establishment or any the modifications leading to a change in the inventory of dangerous substances at the establishment;
(a)the on-site emergency plan prepared under regulation 9 of the 2000 Regulations, immediately before 28th September 2015, remains materially unchanged; and
(b)it complies with the requirements of regulation 11 and this regulation,
(4) An internal emergency plan shall contain the information specified in Part 1 of Schedule 4.
(5) In preparing an internal emergency plan the operator shall consult—
(d)the Health and Social Care Trust for the area where the establishment is situated; and
(e)the Executive, unless the Executive has been exempted under regulation 15 from the requirement to arrange for the preparation of an external emergency plan in respect of the establishment.
(6) An operator shall at suitable intervals not exceeding three years—
(a)review and, where necessary revise the internal emergency plan; and
(7) Where paragraph (3) applies, the operator shall first comply with paragraph (6) before the expiry of three years after the on-site emergency plan was prepared or last reviewed under the 2000 Regulations.
(8) In carrying out a review of an internal emergency plan, the operator shall take into account—
13.—(1) Subject to regulation 15, the Executive shall arrange for the preparation of an external emergency plan, specifying the measures to be taken outside each upper tier establishment.
(2) An external emergency plan shall be prepared no later than six months (or such longer period not exceeding nine months agreed by the Department in writing) after the receipt of the necessary information from the operator.
(3) The operator shall provide the Executive with the information necessary to enable it to arrange for the preparation of an external emergency plan.
(4) The information in paragraph (3) shall be provided to the Executive before the date on which the internal emergency plan is required to be prepared for the establishment under regulation 12(2).
(5) Despite paragraph (1), the Executive is not required to arrange for the preparation of an external emergency plan if—
(a)the off-site emergency plan prepared under regulation 10 of the 2000 Regulations, immediately before 28th September 2015, remains materially unchanged; and
(6) An external emergency plan shall contain the information specified in Part 2 of Schedule 4.
(7) In arranging for the preparation of an external emergency plan the Executive shall consult—
(c)the designated authorities who are liable to be required to respond to an emergency at the establishment; and
(d)such members of the public and other persons as it considers appropriate.
14.—(1) The Executive shall at suitable intervals not exceeding three years—
(a)review and where necessary revise the external emergency plan; and
(2) Where regulation 13(5) applies, the Executive shall first comply with paragraph (1) before the expiry of three years after the off-site emergency plan was prepared or last reviewed under the 2000 Regulations.
(3) In carrying out a review of an external emergency plan, the Executive shall take into account—
(a)any changes at the establishment or within the designated authorities concerned;
(4) Where the Executive is of the opinion that an external emergency plan requires substantial revision, it shall consult the persons referred to in regulation 13(7) before making those revisions.
(5) Where the Executive is of the opinion that in order to test adequately an external emergency plan the co-operation of one or more designated authorities is necessary, it may in writing request such co-operation from those authorities.
(6) Where a designated authority has received a request in accordance with paragraph (5), it shall co-operate in the testing of the external emergency plan.
Exemption of Executive from arranging preparation of an external emergency plan
15.—(1) The Department may, with the agreement of the Department of the Environment, exempt the Executive from the requirement to arrange for the preparation of an external emergency plan under regulation 13(1) where, taking into account the information contained in the safety report for the relevant establishment, the Department is of the opinion that the establishment is incapable of creating a major accident hazard outside the establishment.
(2) An exemption granted by the Department under paragraph (1) shall be in writing and state the reasons for granting it.
(3) The Department may, with the agreement of the Department of the Environment, withdraw an exemption granted under paragraph (1) by specifying, in writing, the date on which the exemption will cease to apply and the date by which an external emergency plan shall be prepared.
16. An operator who has prepared an internal emergency plan or the Executive which has arranged for the preparation of an external emergency plan shall take reasonable steps to ensure that it is put into effect without delay if—
17.—(1) The competent authority shall make the following information available to the public, including by electronic means, in relation to every establishment—
(2) In addition to the information in paragraph (1), the competent authority shall make the following information available to the public, including by electronic means, in relation to every upper tier establishment—
(c)appropriate information from the external emergency plan in relation to dealing with any consequences outside the establishment from a major accident, which shall include advice about co-operating with any instructions or requests from the emergency services at the time of an accident;
(d)where applicable, an indication as to whether the establishment is close to the territory of another Member State with the possibility of a major accident with trans-boundary consequences under the Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents(22).
(3) The competent authority shall ensure that the information in paragraph (1)—
(4) The competent authority shall ensure that the information in paragraph (2)—
(5) The operator of an establishment shall—
(6) The competent authority shall specify in advance in writing—
(a)the means by which operators shall provide information under paragraph (5); and
(b)the format in which it shall be provided.
(7) The Environment and Safety Information (Northern Ireland) Order 1993(23) applies to a notice served under—
(a)regulation 23 (Prohibition of operation) as it applies to a notice served under Article 24 of the 1978 Order; or
as if the reference in the second column of the Schedule to the 1993 Order to an enforcing authority as defined in Article 2(2) of the 1978 Order were a reference to the competent authority.
18.—(1) An operator of an upper tier establishment shall ensure that—
(2) The area referred to in paragraph (1), is the area notified to the operator by the competent authority as being the area within which, in the opinion of the competent authority, persons are liable to be affected by a major accident occurring at the establishment.
(3) The information sent under paragraph (1) shall include at least the information required to be made available to the public under regulation 17(1) and (2).
(4) In preparing the information under paragraph (1), the operator shall consult with the Executive.
(5) The operator shall review and, where necessary revise, the information sent under paragraph (1)—
(6) The information required under paragraph (1) shall be sent to every person and every school, hospital or other area of public use referred to in that paragraph—
19.—(1) Where an operator is of the opinion that environmental information which it sends to the competent authority under these Regulations should not be made available on request by reason of an exception in regulation 12 or 13 of the 2004 Regulations, the operator shall, when it sends that information to the competent authority, inform the competent authority in writing of its opinion and the reasons for it.
(2) Where it receives a request for environmental information under the 2004 Regulations the competent authority shall, in dealing with that request, take into account any opinion and reasons provided by the operator in accordance with paragraph (1) in relation to that information.
(a)“the 2004 Regulations” means the Environmental Information Regulations 2004(24); and
(b)“environmental information” has the meaning, in the case of information sent to the Executive or the Department of the Environment, given by regulation 2(1) of the 2004 Regulations.
20.—(1) Where an upper tier establishment presents a major accident hazard with possible trans-boundary consequences the competent authority shall provide sufficient information to the potentially affected Member State so that the Member State can take this into account in preparing emergency plans and in preparing land use planning policies, or in making land use planning decisions in respect of applications.
(2) Where the competent authority has decided that an upper tier establishment close to the territory of another Member State is incapable of creating a major accident hazard beyond the boundary of the establishment and exempts the Executive under regulation 15 from the requirement to produce an external emergency plan, the competent authority shall notify that Member State of its decision and its reasons.
(e)details of action to be taken following a major accident provided under regulation 26(1),
by reference to information contained in another document sent to the Department of the Environment pursuant to a requirement imposed under the Pollution Prevention and Control (Industrial Emissions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013(25) (“the relevant document”).
(2) Where the competent authority grants permission under paragraph (1), an operator shall, at the time of sending the information contained in the relevant document inform the competent authority in writing, if it is seeking to rely on paragraph (1) and the extent of that reliance by reference to the relevant sub-paragraphs of that paragraph.
(3) The competent authority shall assess whether the information contained in the relevant document satisfies the requirements of the relevant provisions of these Regulations and inform the operator of its decision in writing.
22. The competent authority shall within a reasonable period of time following receipt of a safety report—
23.—(1) The competent authority shall prohibit, by serving a notice on the operator, the operation or bringing into operation of any establishment, installation or storage facility, or any part of any establishment, installation or storage facility where the measures taken by the operator for the prevention and mitigation of major accidents are seriously deficient.
(a)shall give reasons;
(b)shall specify the date when it is to take effect; and
(4) In considering whether, under paragraph (1), the measures taken by the operator for the prevention and mitigation of major accidents are seriously deficient, the competent authority shall, amongst other matters, take into account any serious failures by the operator to take the necessary actions identified by the competent authority in a communication sent to the operator under regulation 25(9)(a).
(5) The operator shall comply with any notice served under paragraph (1) or (2).
(6) Article 26 of the 1978 Order (Appeal against improvement or prohibition notice) and, regulation 12(3)(c) of, and Schedule 5 to, the Industrial Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005(26) apply in relation to a notice served under this regulation as they apply in relation to a prohibition notice served under Article 24 of that Order.
24.—(1) The competent authority shall identify groups of establishments (“domino groups”) where the risk or consequences of a major accident may be increased because of the—
(c)inventories of dangerous substances held by the establishments.
(2) In these Regulations “domino effects” means the increase in risk or consequence of a major accident because of one or more of the factors referred to in paragraph (1)(a) to (c).
(c)information it holds pursuant to any of its functions under the Planning (Hazardous Substances) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015(27);
the competent authority shall provide that information to each operator of an establishment in that group.
(6) Where the competent authority identifies a domino group, it shall notify each operator of an establishment in that group of the name of the operator and full address of each of the establishments within the group.
(7) Where an operator is notified under paragraph (6), it shall, using any information received under paragraph (5), co-operate with the operators of each establishment within the domino group in—
(d)supplying the Executive with information relevant for the purposes of arranging for the preparation of an external emergency plan, where one is required under regulation 13.
(8) The Executive and the Department of the Environment shall, in appropriate cases, co-operate in—
25.—(1) The competent authority shall organise a system of inspections of establishments appropriate to the type of establishment concerned.
(a)shall not be dependent on the receipt of any report submitted by an operator;
(b)shall be sufficient for a planned and systematic examination of the technical, organisational and management systems being employed at an establishment so as to ensure, in particular, that—
(3) The system of inspections shall ensure that all establishments are covered by an inspection plan that includes—
(h)provisions on co-operation between the Executive and the Department of the Environment.
(4) The inspection plan shall be regularly reviewed and revised as appropriate.
(5) Based on the inspection plan the competent authority shall prepare programmes for routine inspections of all establishments.
(6) In preparing programmes for routine inspections of establishments the competent authority shall ensure in particular that—
(a)it has prepared a systematic appraisal of major accident hazards of establishments;
(b)the programmes are regularly reviewed and revised where necessary; and
(7) In carrying out a systematic appraisal referred to in paragraph (6)(a) the competent authority shall take into account—
(c)the relevant findings, if any, of inspections carried out by the Department of Environment under the Pollution Prevention and Control (Industrial Emissions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013(28).
(8) The competent authority shall investigate, as soon as possible, when it comes to its attention in relation to any establishment that there have been—
(9) Following the conclusion of an inspection or investigation under this regulation, the competent authority shall—
(10) Where, following the conclusion of an inspection or investigation under this regulation, the competent authority has identified an important case of non-compliance with these Regulations it shall carry out an additional inspection within 6 months.
(11) Where the competent authority considers it to be expedient, inspections and investigations under this regulation may be co-ordinated with inspections and investigations carried out by the enforcing authority under the Pollution Prevention and Control (Industrial Emissions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013.
26.—(1) Following a major accident, the operator of the establishment where the accident occurred shall, as soon as practicable—
(2) Following a major accident the competent authority shall—
(3) Subject to paragraph (4), where a major accident occurs which meets the criteria set out in Schedule 5, the competent authority shall as soon as it is practicable, and in any event within one year of the date of the accident, provide the European Commission with the following information—
(a)confirmation that the accident occurred in Northern Ireland and the name and address of the competent authority;
(4) In relation to the information mentioned in paragraph (3)(e)—
(a)where the competent authority is able only to provide preliminary information within the time limit in paragraph (3), it shall provide updated information to the European Commission when the results of further analysis and recommendations are available; and
(5) Following a major accident the Executive shall inform the persons likely to be affected of—
27.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), to the extent they would not otherwise do so, the following provisions of the 1978 Order apply to these Regulations as if they were health and safety regulations for the purposes of that Order and any function of the Executive under any other provision of the 1978 Order under or in respect of health and safety regulations (including their enforcement) is exercisable as if these Regulations were, to the extent they would not otherwise be so, health and safety regulations for the purposes of that Order—
(a)Articles 18 to 23 (approval of codes of practice and enforcement);
(d)subject to paragraph (6), Articles 31 to 39 (provisions as to offences).
(2) Article 20(1) of the 1978 Order (duty to make adequate arrangements for enforcement) applies in relation to the enforcement of these Regulations as if the reference to the Department concerned and the Executive included a reference to the Department of the Environment, but nothing in this paragraph has the effect of making the Department of the Environment an enforcing authority for the purposes of the 1978 Order.
(a)provisions of the 1978 Order referred to in paragraph (1), Article 17(1) of the Industrial Pollution Control (Northern Ireland) Order 1997(29) shall have effect in relation to an inspector appointed by the Department of the Environment under Article 16 of that Order (in these Regulations referred to as an “Article 16 inspector”) as if the reference in paragraph (1)(a) of that Article to a pollution control statutory provision included a reference to these Regulations and as if the reference in paragraph (1)(b) of that Article to a function conferred or imposed on an enforcing authority by or under such a statutory provision included a reference to any function conferred or imposed on the Department of the Environment by or under these Regulations; and
(b)functions of an inspector appointed under Article 21 of the 1978 Order, an Article 16 inspector may, despite the person not being an inspector so appointed, serve an improvement notice under Article 23 of that Order in respect of a contravention of these Regulations, and the reference to an inspector in Article 25(5) of that Order shall have effect accordingly.
(4) A failure to discharge a function placed on the competent authority by these Regulations is not an offence, and Article 31(1)(c) of the 1978 Order shall have effect accordingly.
(5) Despite the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999(30), the enforcing authority for the relevant statutory provisions at an establishment, is the Executive.
(2) A fee is payable by the operator of an upper tier establishment to the competent authority for the performance by or on behalf of the Executive or by an inspector appointed by it, of any function conferred on the Executive or the inspector by the 1978 Order which relates to the enforcement of any of the relevant statutory provisions against one or more of the following—
(3) A fee under this regulation shall not exceed the sum of the costs reasonably incurred by the competent authority or the Executive in the performance of their functions in relation to the establishment concerned.
(5) An invoice shall include a statement of the work done and the costs incurred by or on behalf of the competent authority or the Executive, including the period to which the statement relates.
(6) Where a fee has been paid under paragraph (1) to the Executive, it shall pay to the Department of the Environment any fee or part of any fee it recovers as is attributable to work done by or on behalf of that Department or by an Article 16 inspector in performing that Department’s functions.
(7) Where a fee has been paid under paragraph (1) or (2) to the Department of the Environment, it shall pay to the Executive any fee or part of any fee it recovers as is attributable to work done by or on behalf of the Executive or by an inspector in performing the Executive’s functions.
(9) A fee payable under this regulation shall not include any costs connected with—
(a)any criminal investigation or prosecution incurred, in either case, from the date any summons is obtained from a Magistrates Court;
(b)any appeal under Article 26 of the 1978 Order incurred from the date a claim is presented pursuant to the Industrial Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005(31);
(c)functions of the Department related to regulation 13.
Fees payable to Executive for arranging for the preparation, review and testing of external emergency plans
29.—(1) The Executive may charge the operator a fee for the performance of the functions under regulation 13 or 14.
(2) A fee under paragraph (1) may not exceed the sum of the costs reasonably incurred by the Executive in the performance of the functions referred to in that paragraph in relation to the establishment concerned.
(3) A fee may include any costs reasonably incurred by the Executive in arranging for the designated authorities to participate in the testing of the external emergency plan.
(4) A fee is payable within 30 days from the date of the invoice sent by or on behalf of the Executive to the operator.
(5) An invoice shall include a statement of the work done and the costs incurred by or on behalf of the Executive, including the period to which the statement relates.
30. The statutory provisions referred to in column 1 of Parts 1 and 2 of Schedule 6 shall be amended to the extent specified in column 3 of those Parts.
31. The statutory provisions referred to in column 1 of Schedule 7 shall be revoked to the extent specified in column 3 of that Schedule.
32.—(1) A notification sent by an operator to the competent authority under regulation 6 of the 2000 Regulations (including where regulation 6(3) of the 2000 Regulations applied and a report was sent to the Executive under regulation 7 of the Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1985(32)) having effect immediately before 28th September 2015 continues to have effect during the relevant period as a notification sent under regulation 6 of these Regulations.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1) “relevant period” means the period beginning on 28th September 2015 and ending on the date on which the operator sends a notification to the competent authority under regulation 6 of these Regulations.
(3) In relation to an existing establishment, except where regulation 7(5) applies, regulation 5 of the 2000 Regulations continues to apply in relation to a major accident prevention policy prepared under regulation 5 of those Regulations immediately before 28th September 2015 as if the 2000 Regulations had not been revoked until such time as the operator has prepared a major accident prevention policy under regulation 7 of these Regulations.
(a)except where regulation 9(4) applies, regulation 8 of the 2000 Regulations continues to apply in relation to a safety report prepared under regulation 7 or 8 of those Regulations before 28th September 2015 as if the 2000 Regulations has not been revoked until such time as a safety report is sent by the operator to the competent authority under regulation 9(2)(b) of these Regulations;
(b)except where regulation 12(3) applies, an on-site emergency plan prepared under regulation 9 of the 2000 Regulations shall be reviewed, tested and put into effect in accordance with regulations 11 and 12 of the 2000 Regulations as if those Regulations had not been revoked until such time as an internal emergency plan is prepared by the operator under regulation 12 of these Regulations;
(c)except where regulation 13(5) applies, an off-site emergency plan prepared under regulation 10 of the 2000 Regulations shall be reviewed, tested and put into effect in accordance with regulations 11 and 12 of the 2000 Regulations as if those Regulations had not been revoked until such time as an external emergency plan is prepared under regulation 13 of these Regulations;
(d)where immediately before the revocation of the 2000 Regulations by these Regulations regulation 14 of the 2000 Regulations applied to the operator of an establishment—
(i)information supplied by the operator under regulation 14(1) of the 2000 Regulations having effect immediately before 28th September 2015 continues to have effect during the relevant period as information sent under regulation 18(1) of these Regulations;
(ii)where an area was notified to the operator by the competent authority under regulation 14(2) of the 2000 Regulations before 28th September 2015 and that notification remained in effect immediately before that date, the notification continues to have effect as a notification under regulation 18(2) of these Regulations;
(iii)regulation 18(5)(a) of these Regulations, in relation to information sent under regulation 14(1) of the 2000 Regulations, has effect as if the first interval at which the operator of the establishment shall review and, where necessary revise, the information started on the date that information—
(aa)was supplied by the operator under regulation 14(1) of the 2000 Regulations; or
(iv)regulation 18(6)(b) of these Regulations has effect, in relation to information sent under regulation 14(1) of the 2000 Regulations, as if the first interval at which information shall be sent under regulation 18(6) started on the date that information—
(6) For the purposes of paragraph (4)(d)(i) “relevant period” means the period beginning with 28th September 2015 and ending on the date on which the operator sends information under regulation 18(1) of these Regulations.
(7) Where the competent authority had designated a group of establishments under regulation 16 of the 2000 Regulations immediately before 28th September 2015 and that designation remained in effect immediately before that date, the designation continues to have effect as an identification of a domino group for the purposes of regulation 24.
(8) A notice served under regulation 18(1) of the 2000 Regulations which is in force or effective immediately before 28th September 2015 continues to have effect as a notice served under regulation 23(1) of these Regulations.
(9) A notice served under regulation 18(2) of the 2000 Regulations which is in force or effective immediately before 28th September 2015 continues to have effect as a notice served under regulation 23(2) of these Regulations.
(10) A fee payable to the competent authority under regulation 22 of the 2000 Regulations immediately before 28th September 2015 remains payable to the competent authority under regulation 28 of these Regulations.
(11) A fee payable to the Executive under regulation 13 of the 2000 Regulations immediately before 28th September 2015 remains payable to the Executive under regulation 29 of these Regulations.
33.—(1) Where regulation 32(1) applies, the reference in regulation 17(1)(b), to a notification required by regulation 6, shall be construed accordingly.
(2) Where regulation 32(4)(a) applies, the reference in regulation 17(1)(b), to a safety report required by regulation 9, shall be construed accordingly.
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment on 26th August 2015.
— Explosives, Division 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.5 or 1.6, or — Substances or mixtures having explosive properties according to method A.14 of Regulation (EC) No 440/2008 of 30 May 2008 laying down test methods pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) (see note 9) and do not belong to the hazard classes Organic peroxides or Self-reactive substances and mixtures
— Other liquids with a flash point ≤ 60 °C, maintained at a temperature above their boiling point (see note 12)
— Other liquids with a flash point ≤ 60 °C where particular processing conditions, such as high pressure or high temperature, may create major-accident hazards (see note 12)
( see note 22 )
Qualifying quantity (in tonnes) of dangerous substances for the application of:
41. Mixtures of sodium hypochlorite classified as Aquatic Acute Category 1 [H400] containing less than 5 % active chlorine and not classified under any of the other hazard categories in Part 1 of this Schedule, provided that the mixture in the absence of sodium hypochlorite would not be classified as Aquatic Acute Category 1 [H400].
2. Mixtures shall be treated in the same way as pure substances provided they remain within concentration limits set according to their properties under the CLP Regulation, unless a percentage composition or other description is specifically given.
The quantities to be considered for the application of these Regulations are the maximum quantities which are present or are likely to be present at any one time. Dangerous substances present at an establishment only in quantities equal to or less than 2% of the relevant qualifying quantity shall be ignored for the purposes of calculating the total quantity present if their location within an establishment is such that it cannot act as an initiator of a major accident elsewhere at that establishment.
In the case of an establishment where no individual dangerous substance is present in a quantity above or equal to the relevant qualifying quantity, the following rule shall be applied to determine whether these Regulations apply to the establishment.
q1/QU1 + q2/QU2 + q3 /QU3 + q4 /QU4 + q5/QU5 + … is greater than or equal to 1,
and QUX = the relevant qualifying quantity for dangerous substance or category x from Column 3 of Part 1 or from Column 3 of Part 2 of this Schedule.
This rule shall be used to assess the health hazards, physical hazards and environmental hazards. It shall therefore be applied three times—
5. In the case of dangerous substances which are not covered by the CLP Regulation, including waste, but which nevertheless are present, or are likely to be present, in an establishment and which possess or are likely to possess, under the conditions found at the establishment, equivalent properties in terms of major accident potential, these shall be provisionally assigned to the most analogous category or named dangerous substance falling within the scope of these Regulations.
6. In the case of dangerous substances with properties giving rise to more than one classification, for the purposes of these Regulations the lowest qualifying quantities apply. However, for the application of the rule in Note 4, the lowest qualifying quantity for each group of categories in Notes 4(a), 4(b) and 4(c) corresponding to the classification concerned shall be used.
8. The hazard class Explosives includes explosive articles (see Section 2.1 of Annex I to the CLP Regulation). If the quantity of the explosive substance or mixture contained in the article is known, that quantity shall be considered for the purposes of these Regulations. If the quantity of the explosive substance or mixture contained in the article is not known, then, for the purposes of these Regulations, the whole article shall be treated as explosive.
9. Testing for explosive properties of substances and mixtures is only necessary if the screening procedure according to Appendix 6, Part 3 of the UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Manual of Tests and Criteria (“the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria”)(33) identifies the substance or mixture as potentially having explosive properties.
10. If Explosives of Division 1.4 are unpacked or repacked, they shall be assigned to the entry P1a, unless the hazard is shown to still correspond to Division 1.4, in accordance with the CLP Regulation.
11.—(1) Flammable aerosols are classified in accordance with Council Directive 75/324/EEC of 20 May 1975 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to aerosol dispensers(34). “Extremely flammable” and “Flammable” aerosols of that Directive correspond to Flammable Aerosols Category 1 and 2 respectively of the CLP Regulation.
(2) In order to use this entry, it shall be documented that the aerosol dispenser does not contain Flammable Gas Category 1 or 2 nor Flammable Liquid Category 1.
12. According to paragraph 2.6.4.5 in Annex I to the CLP Regulation, liquids with a flash point of more than 35 °C need not be classified in Category 3 if negative results have been obtained in the sustained combustibility test L.2, Part III, section 32 of the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria. This is however not valid under elevated conditions such as high temperature or pressure, and therefore such liquids are included in this entry.
(a)between 15.75%(35) and 24.5%(36) by weight, and either with not more than 0.4% total combustible/organic materials or which fulfil the requirements of Annex III-2 to Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 relating to fertilisers (“Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003”)(37); or
This applies to straight ammonium nitrate based fertilisers and to ammonium nitrate-based compound/composite fertilisers which fulfil the requirements of Annex III-2 to Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003 and in which the nitrogen content as a result of ammonium nitrate is—
(c)more than 28%(38) by weight for mixtures of straight ammonium nitrate based fertilisers with dolomite, limestone and/or calcium carbonate with a purity of at least 90%.
(b)fertilisers referred to in Note 13(a), and Note 14 which do not fulfil the requirements of Annex III-2 to Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003.
(*) Van den Berg et al: The 2005 World Health Organisation Re-evaluation of Human and Mammalian Toxic Equivalency Factors for Dioxins and Dioxin like Compounds.
1. A safety management system shall—
(c)include within its scope the general management system including the organisational structure, responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes and resources for determining and implementing the major accident prevention policy.
2. The following matters shall be addressed by the safety management system—
(ii)the identification of training needs of such personnel and the provision of the training;
(iii)the involvement of employees and of subcontracted personnel working in the establishment, which are important from the point of view of safety;
(b)the identification and evaluation of major hazards: adoption and implementation of procedures for systematically identifying major hazards arising from normal and abnormal operation, including subcontracted activities where applicable, and the assessment of their likelihood and severity;
(ii)the taking into account available information on best practices for monitoring and control, with a view to reducing the risk of system failure;
(ii)the preparation, testing and review of emergency plans to respond to emergencies and the provision of specific training for the staff, such training to be given to all personnel working in the establishment, including relevant subcontracted personnel;
(ii)the procedures shall cover the operator’s system for reporting major accidents or ‘near misses’, particularly those involving failure of protective measures, and their investigation and follow-up on the basis of lessons learned;
(b)a description of processes, in particular the operating methods; where applicable, taking into account available information on best practices;
(c)a description of dangerous substances, including their classification under the CLP Regulation—
(aa)the identification of dangerous substances: chemical name, CAS number and name according to IUPAC(39) nomenclature;
(a)a description of the equipment installed in the plant to limit the consequences of major accidents for human health and environment, including for example detection/protection systems, technical devices for limiting the size of accidental releases, including water spray; vapour screens; emergency catch pots or collection vessels; shut-off valves; inerting systems; and fire water retention;
1. An internal emergency plan shall include the following information—
(b)the name or position of the person with responsibility for liaising with the Executive;
(e)the arrangements for providing early warning of the incident to the Executive, the type of information which should be contained in an initial warning and the arrangements for the provision of more detailed information as it becomes available;
2. An external emergency plan shall include the following information—
(f)the arrangements for providing the public and any neighbouring establishments or sites that fall outside the scope of these Regulations in accordance with regulation 24 (Domino effects and domino groups) with specific information relating to the accident and the behaviour which should be adopted;
2. Any major accident falling within paragraph (a), or having at least one of the consequences described in paragraph (b) to (e)—
(v)the evacuation or confinement of persons for more than 2 hours where the value (person x hours) is at least 500; or
(i)permanent or long-term damage to terrestrial habitats—
(cc)2 hectares or more of a delta; or
PART 1AMENDMENT TO PRIMARY LEGISLATION
Petroleum (Consolidation) Act (Northern Ireland) 1929(40)
In Section 24A(a) for “Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000” substitute “Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015”
Petroleum-Spirit (Motor Vehicles, etc) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1930(41)
S.R. & O. 1930 No. 11
In regulation 15A(a) for “Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000” substitute “Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015”
Petroleum Spirit (Plastic Containers) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1983(42)
In regulation 7(a) for “Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000” substitute “Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015”
Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (Contingency Planning) Regulations 2005(43)
S.I. 2005/2042
In regulation 12(b) for “Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000” substitute “Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015”
Control of Pollution (Oil Storage) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010(44)
In regulation 3(2)(d) for “Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000” substitute “Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015”
Health and Safety (Fees) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012(45)
In regulation 12A for “Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000” substitute “Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015”
Pollution Prevention and Control (Industrial Emissions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013(46)
In paragraph 12(1)(d) of Part 2 to Schedule 4—
4. for “under regulation 5 of Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000” substitute “under regulation 7 of Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015”
5. for “under regulation 7 of those Regulations” substitute “under Part 3 of those Regulations”
S.R. 2005 No. 305
Landfill (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013
S.R. 2013 No. 161
1. These Regulations impose requirements with respect to the control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances. The expressions “major accident” and “dangerous substances” are defined in regulation 2(1). The Regulations implement Directive 2012/18/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances, amending and subsequently repealing Council Directive 96/98/EC (O.J. No. L 197, 24.7.2012, p.1) (“Seveso III Directive”), except for Articles 13 and 15, which relate to land use planning, and Article 30, which was implemented by the Control of Major Accident Hazards (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014 (S.R. 2014 No. 74).
2. The Regulations apply to establishments, as defined in regulation 2(1), where dangerous substances are present or are likely to be present in quantities equal to or exceeding the quantities specified in column 2 of Part 1 or in column 2 of Part 2 of Schedule 1. Establishments may be either a “lower tier establishment” or an “upper tier establishment”, as defined in regulation 2(1). The Regulations do not apply in the circumstances specified in regulation 3(2).
3. The competent authority for the purposes of the Regulations is the Executive and the Department of the Environment acting jointly.
(i)within a reasonable period of time prior to the start of construction of a new establishment (regulation 6(1)); (the expression “new establishment” is defined in regulation 2(1));
(iii)by 1 June 2016 in the case of an existing establishment (regulation 6(4)) (the expression “existing establishment” is defined in regulation 2(2));
(iv)in the case of an other establishment, within one year from the date when the establishment first becomes an other establishment (regulation 6(5)) (the expression “other establishment” is defined in regulation 2(1)); and
(i)require the operator of an upper tier establishment to prepare an internal emergency plan with specified objectives (set out in regulation 11), containing specified information and to review and test the plan (regulation 12 and Schedule 4);
(j)require the Executive (as defined in regulation 2(1)) to arrange for the preparation of an external emergency plan for each upper tier establishment with specified objectives (set out in regulation 11) and containing specified information (regulation 13 and Schedule 4), subject to any exemption that may be granted by the Department under regulation 15;
(k)require the Executive to review and to test the external emergency plan (regulation 14);
(l)require an operator who has prepared an internal emergency plan or the Executive which has arranged for the preparation of an external emergency plan under a duty imposed by the Regulations to put it into effect in specified circumstances (regulation 16);
(s)impose specified requirements as regards action to be taken following a major accident on the operator of the establishment concerned, the competent authority and the Executive (regulation 26);
(u)provide for fees to be payable by the operator to the competent authority for the performance of specified functions by the Executive or competent authority (regulation 28);
(v)provide for fees to be payable by the operator to the Executive for arranging for the preparation, review and testing of the external emergency plan (regulation 29);
(x)revoke the legislation specified in Schedule 7 (regulation 31); and
(y)contain saving and transitional provisions (regulations 32 and 33).
5. In Great Britain the corresponding Regulations are the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/483). The Great Britain Health and Safety Executive has prepared a full impact assessment of the effect that those Regulations will have on costs to business and the voluntary sector. A copy of that assessment together with a Northern Ireland supplement prepared by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland is held at the offices of that Executive at 83 Ladas Drive, Belfast, BT6 9FR from where a copy may be obtained on request. A copy of the transposition note in relation to the implementation of the Seveso III Directive can also be obtained from the same offices. Copies of the impact assessment and transposition note are annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside these Regulations at www.legislation.gov.uk.
1972 c. 68; the enabling powers conferred by section 2(2) were extended by virtue of section 1 of the European Economic Area Act 1993 (c. 51). Section 2(2) was further amended by section 27(1) of the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 (c. 51) and Part 1 of the Schedule to the European Union (Amendment) Act 2008 (c. 7)
O.J. No L353, 31.12.08, p.1
S.R. 2000 No. 93, as amended by S.R. 2005 No. 305, S.R. 2008 No. 424, S.R. 2009 No. 132, S.R. 2013 No. 161 and S.R. 2014 No. 74
Chemical Abstracts Service (www.cas.org), is a division of the American Chemical Society
S.R. 1997 No. 193, as amended by S.R. 1999 No. 150 and S.R. 2009 No. 238
1954 c.33 (N.I.), as amended by S.I. 1999/663
S.R. 2013 No. 160, as amended by S.R. 2014 No. 304
O.J. No. L326, 3.12.1998, p. 1
S.I. 1993/3159 (N.I. 14)
S.I. 2004/3391, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations
S.R. 2005 No. 150, as amended by S.R. 2005 No. 376, S.R. 2005 No. 578 S.R 2006 No. 261, S.R. 2007 No. 340, S.R. 2007 No. 494, 2009 c. 3. 2010 c. 3 (N.I.) and S.R. 2011 No. 161; revoked in part by S.R. 2006 No. 261
S.R. 1999 No. 90 as amended by, S.R. 2000 No. 375, S.R. 2003 No. 33, S.R. 2006 No. 205, S.R. 2006 No. 425, S.R. 2007 No. 31, S.R. 2007 No. 291, S.R. 2009 No. 238 and S.R. 2012 No. 179
S.R. 2005 No. 150, as amended by S.R. 2005 No. 376, S.R. 2005 No. 578, S.R. 2006 No. 261, S.R. 2007 No. 340, S.R. 2007 No. 494, 2009 c. 3, 2010 c. 3 (N.I.) and S.R. 2011 No. 161; revoked in part by S.R. 2006 No. 261
S.R. 1985 No. 175
More guidance on waiving of the test can be found in the A.14 (explosive properties) method description in the Annex to Council Regulation (EC) No 440/2008 of 30 May 2008 laying down test methods pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Registration Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) (O.J. L 142, 31.5.2008, p. 1)
O.J. L 147, 9.6.1975, p. 40
15.75% nitrogen content by weight as a result of ammonium nitrate corresponds to 45% ammonium nitrate
24.5% nitrogen content by weight as a result of ammonium nitrate corresponds to 70% ammonium nitrate
O.J. L 304, 21.11.2003, p. 1
28% nitrogen content by weight as a result of ammonium nitrate corresponds to 80% ammonium nitrate
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (www. iupac.org)
1929 c. 13 (N.I.), as amended by S.R. 2000 No. 93; there are other amending instruments but none is relevant
S.R. & O. 1930 No. 11, as amended by S.R. 2000 No. 93 and S.R 2003 No. 152
S.R. 1983 No. 43, as amended by S.R. 2000 No. 93 and S.R 2003 No. 152
S.R. 2010 No. 412, as amended by S.R. 2011 No. 385
2015 Security Documentation And The Extent Of The Information Provided