The Control of Major Accident Hazards (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

1.  These Regulations amend the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 (S.R. 2000 No. 93) (“COMAH”), so as to give effect to Directive 2003/105/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (O.J. No. L345, 31.12.2003, p. 97), amending Council Directive 96/82/EC (O.J. No. L10, 14.1.1997, p. 13) on the control of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances (to which COMAH gives effect in Northern Ireland), and give belated effect to the latter Directive in one respect.

2.  In addition to minor and drafting changes, these Regulations –

(a) provide for the sending of notifications by electronic means (regulation 2(2)(b));

(b) modify the exclusions relating to mines, quarries, boreholes and waste land-fill sites (regulation 2(3)(a));

(c) introduce a time limit for the preparation of a major accident prevention policy and modify time limits for notification, the submission of a safety report and the preparation of the on-site emergency plan (regulation 2(4) to (6) and (8));

(d) require the notification of certain modifications to the establishment (regulation 2(5));

(e) require notification when a safety report is revised or when a review of a report does not lead to revision (regulation 2(7));

(f) modify the requirement to consult persons working in the establishment on the preparation of the plan (regulation 2(8)(b));

(g) require the Executive to consult the public when the off-site emergency plan is reviewed (regulation 2(9));

(h) require that schools, hospitals and other such establishments are supplied with safety information (regulation 2(10));

(i) amend the quantities and classification of dangerous substances to which COMAH apply (regulation 2(11) and Schedule);

(j) require specific training in planning for emergencies for all persons working in the establishment (regulation 2(12));

(k) require that a notification in respect of the quantity and physical form of petroleum products includes information for each class of petroleum product (regulation 2(13));

(l) require the use of maps, images or equivalent descriptions to support the assessment of the extent and severity of the consequences of identified major accidents, and require the safety report to include the names of organisations involved in drawing up the report (regulation 2(14));

(m) provide for the competent authority to include, in the register of information which it maintains, any notification it receives following a review of the safety report which does not lead to its revision (regulation 2(15)(a)); and

(n) require the operator to provide an amended safety report for such register if information is excluded from the register (regulation 2(15)(b)).

3.  In Great Britain the corresponding Regulations are the Control of Major Accident Hazards (Amendment) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/1088). The Great Britain Health and Safety Executive has prepared a regulatory impact assessment in respect of these Regulations and 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.