Developers may pay for hazard site safety

News | HSW
01.05.2007

Major hazard site operators such as oil and chemicals firms may have to increase control measures to protect surrounding businesses and residents. Developers of new buildings in their vicinity could be required to contribute to the cost of safety improvements at the sites. These are two proposals floated in a new HSE consultation paper on managing the risks from major hazard sites in populous areas, prompted by the Buncefield explosions and fire in 2005.

The consultation stems from the fact that risk analysis of hazardous installations, particularly those regulated under the Control of Major Accident Hazard Regulations, has until now been measured in terms of the risk to any individual on or near the site. The Buncefield incident focused government attention on the potential wider effect of a major incident.

The HSE has identified 54 installations, including chemical plants,  water treatment plants using chemicals and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage facilities in built-up areas where an incident could pose a bigger "societal" risk.

At these sites, operators could be required to upgrade safety measures and maintenance regimes in future to control the risk, the paper suggests. And where planned new office or residential developments nearby would increase the number of people at risk "there could then be a case for operators, developers and planning authorities considering if the costs of implementing these could be allocated in an economically rational way between relevant parties, so that the development could go ahead without societal risk increasing."

The consultation document is at www.hse.gov.uk/consult/condocs/cd212.htm and the HSE is asking for responses by 2 July.