Availability of community level information on industrial risks in the EU

In this paper, European Commission policy issues in industrial risk managem ent are discussed, especially with regard to the new Directive on the contr ol of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances (Seveso II Dire ctive). In all new risk management related elements of this Directive, such as Safety Reports, Safety Management Systems or Land Use Planning, particu lar emphasis is given to efficient flows of relevant information among the operators of a site that falls under the Directive (Seveso Plant), the nati onal Competent Authority, the European Commission and the general public. T wo types of information can be distinguished: data describing the risk pote ntial of Seveso Plants and data describing the full spectrum of accident ca usation and evolution at such plants. The first type of risk related inform ation is available prior to a major accident (information on risk sources), while the second one is available only posterior to such events (accident data). The Commission's efforts to implement the Directive resulted not onl y in the establishment of a EU wide major accidents database (MARS, in oper ation since the days of the predecessor legislation, Seveso I), but also th e current aim of establishing a Seveso Plants information system (SPIRS). I n this paper, on the basis of experience with these two systems, developmen ts with regard to the implementation of the Seveso I Directive in the EU Me mber States during the last 15 years are described, and trends in the numbe r of Seveso Plants and number of major accidents that occurred at such plan ts are discussed. It is shown that the rate of occurrence of major accident s is approximately constant, and, since the number of risk sources has incr eased, the number of accidents per unit of activity therefore has decreased . Also, due to a different classification scheme, a significant increase in the number of Seveso Plants from Seveso I to Seveso II can be expected.