S.I. No. 21/1992 - European Communities (Major Accident Hazards of Certain Industrial Activities) (Amendment) Regulations, 1992.

S.I. No. 21 of 1992.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (MAJOR ACCIDENT HAZARDS OF CERTAIN INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1992.

I, MICHAEL O'KENNEDY, Minister for Labour, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by Section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving further effect to Council Directive 82/501/EEC of 24 June 1982 ⁽¹⁾, and giving effect to Council Directive 88/610/EEC of 24th November, 1988 ⁽²⁾, hereby make the following Regulations:

⁽¹⁾ O.J. No. L230 of 5.8.1982, pp. 1-18.

⁽²⁾ O.J. No. L336 of 7. 12. 1988, p.p. 14 -18.

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Major Accident Hazards of Certain Industrial Activities) (Amendment) Regulations, 1992.

(2) The European Communities (Major Accident Hazards of Certain Industrial Activities) Regulations, 1986 and 1989, and these Regulations may be cited together as the European Communities (Major Accident Hazards of Certain Industrial Activities) Regulations, 1986 to 1992.

2. (1) In these Regulations "the Principal Regulations" means the European Communities (Major Accident Hazards of Certain Industrial Activities) Regulations, 1986 ( S.I. No. 292 of 1986 ).

(2) ( a ) The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989 (No. 7 of 1989) shall be construed and have effect as if these Regulations were an existing enactment within the meaning of "existing enactments" contained in section 2 (1) of that Act and set out in Part II of the Second Schedule to that Act.

( b ) Nothing in subparagraph (a) of this paragraph shall be construed as creating an indictable offence in respect of these Regulations.

3. In Regulation 3 (1) of the Principal Regulations, the definition of "the Directive" shall be construed and have effect as if the reference therein to Council Directive

82/501/EEC of 24th June, 1982⁽¹⁾ were a reference to that Directive as amended by Council Directive 87/216/EEC of 19th March, 1987⁽³⁾ and Council Directive 88/610/EEC of 24th November, 1988⁽²⁾.

⁽¹⁾O.J. No. L230 of 5.8.1982, pp. 1-18.

⁽²⁾O.J. No. L336 of 7. 12. 1988, p.p. 14 -18.

⁽³⁾O.J. No. L85 of 28.3.1987, pp. 36 -39.

4. Regulation 12 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by the substitution of the following for paragraph (1):

"(1) ( a ) Subject to the following paragraphs of this Regulation, a manufacturer shall not undertake any industrial activity unless he has prepared, in such form as the Central Competent Authority may specify, a written notification comprising details of the matters specified in Part I of the Fifth Schedule and has submitted it in duplicate to the Authority at least 6 months before beginning that activity or before such shorter period as the Authority may agree in writing.

( b ) The Central Competent Authority may request additional copies of the notification referred to in paragraph (a) and the manufacturer concerned shall submit to the Authority, within one month of the receipt of the request, the number of additional copies so requested."

5. The Principal Regulations are hereby amended by the substitution of the following for Regulation 16:

"16. (1) It shall be the function of every local competent authority, upon being notified by the Central Competent Authority that—

( a ) in its functional area an industrial activity is being carried on or is proposed to be carried on, or

( b ) outside its functional area (whether within the State and its internal waters or otherwise) an industrial activity is being carried on or is likely to be carried on which, in the opinion of the Central Competent Authority, could cause a major accident leading to a serious danger within the functional area of the local competent authority to man or to the environment,

to prepare, subject to paragraph (3) (a), in accordance with Regulation 17 an emergency plan (in these Regulations referred to as an 'off-site emergency plan') for action outside the establishment in relation to possible major accidents at the establishment.

(2) A local competent authority shall provide such information from the off-site emergency plan to the manufacturer concerned as will enable him to perform his duties under Regulations 15 and 18.

(3) Where a person is responsible for, or proposes to be responsible for, an industrial activity outside the State or its internal waters and in respect of which a notification has been given to a local competent authority by virtue of paragraph (1) (b), then—

( a ) in preparing the off-site emergency plan, Regulation 17 shall be construed as if it did not include paragraphs (2) (c) and (3), and

( b ) the local competent authority may provide to the said person such information from the off-site emergency plan as it considers appropriate."

6. Regulation 18 of the Principal regulations is hereby amended—

( a ) by the insertion, in Regulation 18, of the following after paragraph (2):

"(2A) The information prepared for the purposes of this Regulation shall—

( a ) in addition to containing information for the purposes of paragraph (1), also contain the information laid down in Annex VII (inserted by Council Directive 88/610/EEC of 24 November 1988^*) of the Directive (which is set out in the Ninth Schedule),

^*O.J. No. L336, 7.12.1988, pp 14-18.

( b ) be supplied to the persons concerned in an appropriate manner without any of them having to request it and be repeated at appropriate intervals,

( c ) be updated at appropriate intervals, and

( d ) be made available to any person on request.",

( b ) in paragraph (5), by the substitution of "paragraphs (1), (2) and (2A)" for "paragraph (1)".

7. The Principal Regulations are hereby amended—

( a ) by the substitution for the Second Schedule thereto (which sets out Annex II to Council Directive 82/501/EEC of the provisions set out in Schedule A to these Regulations (which sets out the said Annex as replaced by Council Directive 88/610/EEC),

( b ) in the Fourth Schedule thereto, by the addition of the following:

"(e) Oxidising substances:

Substances which give rise to highly exothermic reaction when in contact with other substances, particularly flammable substances.",

and

( c ) by the addition, after the Eighth Schedule thereto, as the Ninth Schedule, of the provisions set out in Schedule B to these Regulations (which sets out Annex VII, as added by Council Directive 88/610/EEC, to Council Directive 82/501/EEC).

8. In respect of those industrial activities to which the provisions of Regulations 12 to 18 of the Principal Regulations would not apply prior to the commencement of these Regulations but to which they would apply after such commencement by virtue of Regulations 7 and 8 of these Regulations, the Principal Regulations shall, in their application to those industrial activities, be construed as if—

( a ) in Regulation 3 thereof, the references in paragraph (a) of the definition of "new industrial activity" to the commencement of the Principal Regulations were references to the commencement of these Regulations;

( b ) in Regulation 12 (2) thereof, the reference to a new industrial activity begun within six months of the commencement of the Principal Regulations were a reference to a new industrial activity begun within six months of the commencement of these Regulations;

( c ) in Regulation 12 (3) thereof, the reference to the 8th day of July, 1989, were a reference to the 1st day of June, 1994, and the reference to within three months of the commencement of the Principal Regulations were a reference to within three months of the commencement of these Regulations;

( d ) in Regulation 15 (2) thereof, the reference to within the period of three months after the commencement of the Principal Regulations were a reference to within the period of three months after the commencement of these Regulations;

( e ) in Regulation 17 (4) (a) (i) thereof, the reference to within the period of nine months after the commencement of the Principal Regulations were a reference to within the period of nine months after the commencement of these Regulations; and

(f) in Regulation 18 (5) (a) thereof, the reference to within the period of 12 months after the commencement of the Principal Regulations were a reference to within the period of 12 months after the commencement of these Regulations.

SCHEDULE A

"SECOND SCHEDULE

ANNEX II TO COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 82/501/EEC

STORAGE OTHER THAN OF SUBSTANCES LISTED IN ANNEX III ASSOCIATED WITH AN INSTALLATION REFERRED TO IN ANNEX I

This Annex applies to storage of dangerous substances and/or preparations at any place, installation, premises, building or area of land, isolated or within an establishment, being a site used for the purpose of storage, except where that storage is associated with an installation covered by Annex I and where the substances in question appear in Annex III.

The quantities set out below in Parts I and II relate to each store or group of stores belonging to the same manufacturer where the distance between the stores is not sufficient to avoid, in foreseeable circumstances, any aggravation of major-accident hazards. These quantities apply in any case to each group of stores belonging to the same manufacturer where the distance between the stores is less than 500 m.

The quantities to be considered are the maximum quantities which are, or are liable to be, in storage at any one time.

PART I

NAMED SUBSTANCES.

Where a substance (or a group of substances) listed in Part I also falls within a category of Part II, the quantities set out in Part I must be used.

Substances or groups of substances	Quantity (tonnes) ≥
for application of Articles 3 and 4	for application of Article 5
1. Acrylonitrile	20	200
2. Ammonia	50	500
3. Chlorine	10	75
4. Sulphur dioxide	25	250
5. Ammonium nitrate⁽¹⁾	350	2500
6. Ammonium nitrate in the form of fertilizers⁽²⁾	1 250	10 000
7. Sodium chlorate	25	250
8. Oxygen	200	2000
9. Sulphur trioxide	15	100
10. Carbonyl chloride (Phosgene)	0,750	0,750
11. Hydrogen sulphide	5	50
12. Hydrogen fluoride	5	50
13. Hydrogen cyanide	5	20
14. Carbon disulphide	20	200
15. Bromine	50	500
16. Acetylene	5	50
17. Hydrogen	5	50
18. Ethylene oxide	5	50
19. Propylene oxide	5	50
20. 2-Propenal (Acrolein)	20	200
21. Formaldehyde (concentration ≥ 90%)	5	50
22. Bromomethane (Methyl bromide)	20	200
23. Methyl isocyanate	0,150	0,150
24. Tetraethyl lead or tetramethyl lead	5	50
25. 1,2 Dibromoethane(Ethylene dibromide)	5	50
26. Hydrogen chloride (liquefied gas)	25	250
27. Diphenyl methane di-isocyanate (MDI)	20	200
28. Toluene di-isocyanate (TDI)	10	100

⁽¹⁾This applies to ammonium nitrate and mixtures of ammonium nitrate where the nitrogen content derived from the ammonium nitrate is greater than 28% by weight and aqueous solutions of ammonium nitrate where the concentration of ammonium nitrate is greater than 90% by weight.

⁽²⁾This applies to straight ammonium nitrate fertilizers which comply with Directive 80/876/EEC and to compound fertilizers where the nitrogen content derived from the ammonium nitrate is greater than 28% by weight (a compound fertilizer contains ammonium nitrate together with phosphate and/or potash).

PART II

CATEGORIES OF SUBSTANCES AND PREPARATIONS NOT SPECIFICALLY NAMED IN PART I

The quantities of different substances and preparations ⁽¹⁾ of the same category are cumulative. Where there is more than one category specified in the same entry, the quantities of all substances and preparations of the specified categories in that entry must be summed up.

Categories of substances and preparations (2)	Quantity (tonnes) ≥
for application of Articles 3 and 4	for application of Article 5 ⁽³⁾
1. Substances and preparations that are classified as 'very toxic'.	5	20
2. Substances and preparations that are classified as 'very toxic', 'toxic' (4) 'oxydizing' or 'explosive'.	10	200
3. Gaseous substances and preparations including those in liquefied form, which are gaseous at normal pressure and which are classified as 'highly flammable'(5).	50	200
4. Substances and preparations (excluding gaseous substances and preparations covered under item 3 above) which are classified as 'highly flammable' or 'extremely flammable' (6).	5 000	50 000

⁽¹⁾Preparations are mixtures or solutions consisting of two or more substances (Directive 79/83 I/EEC).

⁽²⁾The categories of substances and preparations are as defined in the following Directives and their amendments:

— Council Directive 67/548/EEC of 27 June 1967 on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances,

— Council Directive 73/173/EEC of 4 June 1973 on the approximation of Member States' laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous preparations (solvents),

— Council Directive 77/728/EEC of 7 November 1977 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of paints, varnishes, printing inks, adhesives and similar products,

— Council Directive 78/631/EEC of 26 June 1978 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous preparations (pesticides),

— Council Directive 88/379/EEC of 7 June 1988 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous preparations.

⁽³⁾Articles 5 (1) (a) and 5 (1) (b), third indent, apply where appropriate.

⁽⁴⁾Where the substances and preparations are in a state which gives them properties capable of creating a major-accident hazard.

⁽⁵⁾This includes flammable gases as defined in Annex IV (c) (i).

⁽⁶⁾This includes highly flammable liquids as defined in Annex IV (c) (ii).

SCHEDULE B

"NINTH SCHEDULE

ANNEX VII TO COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 82/501/EEC

ITEMS OF INFORMATION TO BE COMMUNICATED TO THE PUBLIC IN APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 8 (1).

( a ) Name of company and address of site.

( b ) Identification, by position held, of the person giving the information.

( c ) Confirmation that the site is subject to the regulations and/or administrative provisions implementing the Directive and that the notification referred to in Article 5 or at least the declaration provided for in Article 9 (3) has been submitted to the competent authority.

( d ) An explanation in simple terms of the activity undertaken on the site.

( e ) The common names or, in the case of storage covered by Part II of Annex II, the generic names or the general danger classification of the substances and preparations involved on site which could give rise to a major accident, with an indication of their principal dangerous characteristics.

( f ) General information relating to the nature of the major-accident hazards, including their potential effects on the population and the environment.

( g ) Adequate information on how the population concerned will be warned and kept informed in the event of an accident.

( h ) Adequate information on the actions the population concerned should take, and on the behaviour they should adopt, in the event of an accident.

(i) Confirmation that the company is required to make adequate arrangements on site, including liaison with the emergency services, to deal with accidents and to minimize their effects.

( j ) A reference to the off-site emergency plan drawn up to cope with any off-site effects from an accident. This should include advice to co-operate with any instructions or requests from the emergency services at the time of an accident.

( k ) Details of where further relevant information can be obtained, subject to the requirements of confidentiality laid down in national legislation.".

GIVEN under my Official Seal this 27th day of January, 1992.

MICHAEL O'KENNEDY,

Minister for Labour.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The purpose of these Regulations is to implement Council Directive 88/610/EEC and give further effect to Council Directive 82/501/EEC on the major accident hazards of certain industrial activities. Council Directive 82/501/EEC was implemented by the European Communities (Major Accident Hazards of Certain Industrial Activities), Regulations, 1986 ( S.I. No. 292 of 1986 ).

The Regulations prescribe that in situations where an industrial activity is being carried on which could cause a major accident, local competent authorities, irrespective of whether the activity is in their functional area or not, draw up an off-site emergency plan to deal with potential incidents which might affect the population or the environment in their functional area. In addition the Regulations allow for the phased implementation of Directive 88/610/EEC for manufactureres coming under the requirements of Regulations 12 to 18 of the 1986 Regulations 12 to 18 of the Regulations for the first time.