COMAH Regulations 1999 - Kent

The Control of Major Accident Hazard Regulations 1999

1 Introduction

The Control of Major Accident Hazard Regulations 1999 (The COMAH Regulations)
are the latest in a series of regulations, made under Health and Safety legislation,
which are aimed at reducing the risk to the public from sites which store and use a
range of hazardous chemicals.

An accident in July 1976 at a chemical plant in the Italian town of Seveso led to the
creation of the European Community ‘Seveso Directive’, which set up a European-
wide legislative framework for managing industrial safety. This was adopted in 1982,
and in 1984 the UK introduced the Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazard
Regulations (CIMAH). After later amendment, these were replaced in 1999 by the
COMAH Regulations.

The COMAH Regulations set out a range of hazardous chemicals and two threshold
quantities – upper and lower – for each. Any site where storage exceeds either of
the thresholds must comply with the Regulations. If only the lower threshold is
exceeded, the site becomes a lower-tier site, while any site which exceeds the higher
threshold becomes a top-tier site.

This is a brief summary of the requirements of the Regulations and their impact on
Kent.

2 Lower-tier sites

All lower tier sites must:

• notify basic details to the Health and Safety Executive who, in England, act as
the ‘Competent Authority’ under the Regulations,

• take all measures necessary to prevent major accidents and limit their
consequences to people and the environment,

• prepare a major accident prevention policy.

The basic details to be notified are:

• name and address of operator,
• address of establishment,
• name or position of person in charge,
• details of dangerous substances on site,
• site activities,
• environmental details.

The need to prevent accidents and limit their consequences is the underpinning
principle of the Regulations. The intention is that the risk of an accident occurring
should be reduced to the lowest reasonable level, according to the nature of the risk,
but that if there were to be an accident then the means of responding to it have
already been considered.

The major accident prevention policy is a statement of what is to be achieved and a
summary of the safety management system. The policy should include:

• organisation and personnel,
• identification and evaluation of major hazards,
• operational control,
• planning for emergencies,
• monitoring, audit and review.

3 Top-tier sites

Top-tier sites must also:

• notify basic details to the Health and Safety Executive who, in England, act as
the ‘Competent Authority’ under the Regulations,

• take all measures necessary to prevent major accidents and limit their
consequences to people and the environment,

and in addition:

• prepare and update a safety report,
• prepare and test an on-site emergency plan,
• supply information to local authorities for off-site planning purposes,
• provide certain information to the public about their activities.

The safety report provides more information than the major accident prevention
policy, and must demonstrate to the Competent Authority that all measures
necessary for the prevention and mitigation of major accidents have been taken. It
must include:

• a policy on how to prevent and mitigate major accidents,
• a management system for implementing that policy,
• an effective method for identifying any major accidents that might occur,
• measures (such as safe plant and safe operating procedures) to prevent and

mitigate major accidents,

• information on the safety precautions built into the plant and equipment when it
was designed and constructed,

• details of measures (such as fire-fighting, relief systems and filters) to limit the
consequences of any major accident that might occur,

• information about the emergency plan for the site, which is also used by the
local authority in drawing up an off-site emergency plan.

The on-site emergency plan deals with the direct response to an incident at the site.
It will include information on specific measures to be taken and environmental
considerations.

4 Public information

The Competent Authority – in England the Health and Safety Executive – has to
specify a Public Information Zone for each top-tier site which, taking into account the
nature of the hazards and the surrounding area, includes the residents likely to be
affected by a major accident at the site. The operator of the site has a duty to
provide information to these residents without them having to request it.

The information to be provided is set out in the Regulations, and is:

• the name of operator and address of the establishment,

• identification, by position held, of the person giving the information,

• confirmation that the establishment is subject to these regulations and that the
notification referred to in regulation 6 or the safety report has been submitted to
the competent authority,

• an explanation in simple terms of the activity or activities undertaken at the
establishment,

• the common names of the substances used at the establishment which could
give rise to a major accident, with an indication of their principal dangerous
characteristics,

• general information relating to the nature of the major accident hazards,
including their potential effects on the population and the environment,

• adequate information on how the population concerned will be warned and kept
informed in the event of a major accident,

• adequate information on the actions the population concerned should take, and
on the behaviour they should adopt, in the event of a major accident,

• confirmation that the operator is required to make adequate arrangements on
site, in particular liaison with the emergency services, to deal with major
accidents and to minimise their effects,

• a reference to the off-site emergency plan for the establishment. This should
include advice to co-operate with any instructions or requests from the
emergency services at the time of an accident,

• details of where further relevant information can be obtained, unless making
that information available would be contrary to the interests of national security
or personal confidentiality or would prejudice to an unreasonable degree the
commercial interests of any person.

5 Off Site plans

The County Council has a duty to prepare an off-site emergency plan for each top-
tier site, setting out the response to an accident which affects the surrounding
population and environment.

The objectives of both the on-site plan and the off-site plan are:

• containing and controlling incidents so as to minimise the effects, and to limit
damage to persons, the environment and property,

• implementing the measures necessary to protect persons and the environment
from the effects of major accidents,

• communicating the necessary information to the public and to the emergency
services and authorities concerned in the area,

• providing for the restoration and clean-up of the environment following a major
accident.

The off-site plan must refer to:

• the names or positions of persons authorised to set emergency procedures in
motion and of persons authorised to take charge of and co-ordinate off-site
action,

• arrangements for receiving early warning of incidents, and alert and call-out
procedures,

• arrangements for co-ordinating resources necessary to implement the off-site
emergency plan,

• arrangements for providing assistance with on-site mitigatory action
• arrangements for off-site mitigatory action,
• arrangements for providing the public with specific information relating to the

accident and the behaviour which it should adopt,
• arrangements for the provision of information to the emergency services of

other Member States in the event of a major accident with possible
transboundary consequences.

Many of the procedures are applicable to all types of major emergencies, and are
therefore set out in detail in the authority’s generic emergency plans. Individual off-
site plans will usually make reference to these procedures rather than duplicate
them.

6 COMAH sites in Kent

At April 2005 there is only one top-tier COMAH site in Kent County Council’s
administrative area. This is K&S Fumigation, at Appledore.

The main activity performed at the site is the storage of fumigant and other chemicals
used for agricultural purposes

Their Off-Site Emergency Plan has been produced by Kent County Council in
consultation with K & S Fumigation Services, Ashford Borough Council, Kent
Emergency Services, Kent & Medway Health Authority, the Health and Safety
Executive and the Environment Agency.

The Company has provided fumigation services for more than 25 years, expanding
over that period into a specialist and experienced contract soil fumigation service.
The general aspects of storage and safe handling of the chemicals on site are
addressed by the Company in its work practices, personnel training and
development, and security of the storage area. However, because the Company
stores certain chemicals above threshold quantities, the site is designated under
Regulation 3 (1) of Part 1 of the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH)
Regulations 1999, being an establishment where dangerous substances listed in
column 1 of Parts 2 or 3 of Schedule 1 of the Regulations are present.

The Health & Safety Executive has determined that the public consultation and
information zone, required to be set by the Regulations, is 500 metres from the site
which encompasses the majority of Appledore village. This distance is based on the
maximum storage permissions set by Ashford Borough Council in its land use
planning consent. However the scenarios identified in the Company Safety Report
and approved by the HSE do not realistically have hazard ranges extending to this
distance.