Health and Safety
Executive / Commission
Land Use Planning
Following the accident on the 21st of September 2001 at a factory belonging to the Grande Paroisse Company in Toulouse, the French General Inspectorate for the Environment has published a report which "presents a precise review of the administrative operating conditions at the AZF factory, the checks carried out by the Inspectorate of Classified Installations, the conditions relating to urban development around the site and information about ammonium nitrate". It is provided here for general information.
This page gives the background to the involvement of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in land use planning, what land use planning is designed to achieve and the role HSE plays.
The evolution of the modern chemical industry has influenced all our lives. In many respects this influence has been beneficial; the standard of living enjoyed by today's consumer society would not have been possible without its products. But there is a price to be paid for these advances: that of living with hazards from industry.
The flammable, oxidising, explosive or toxic properties of the substances used and produced by today's chemical industry are such that accidents involving even relatively small quantities of these materials may have the potential to cause harm to people or property, or to the environment.
Where these substances are present in the scale associated with the major chemical industries the consequences of major accidents may potentially rival those of natural disasters in terms of loss of life, injury and damage to property over a wide area. Communities where such accidents have occurred have paid and in some cases continue to pay a high price for the hazard on their doorstep: Seveso, Bhopal, Mexico City, Flixborough.
In the UK much has already been achieved through controls under the Health and Safety at Work Etc. Act 1974 [HSWA] and its relevant statutory provisions to reduce the likelihood of major accidents and to mitigate the consequences of those which do occur, by emergency planning and information to people in the surrounding area.
But there is a further and very important way in which the consequences of major accidents can be mitigated: land-use planning. Land-use planning allows decisions to be made about the location of major hazard installations and about the development of land around them.
In an ideal world, industries using large quantities of hazardous substances would be located far away from centres of housing and other developments which could be affected in case of accident.
In reality, the position is very different. Factories, housing, schools and shops have developed close to each other; indeed, in many cases these industries provide the economic heart of the local community.
Greater control is possible when planning the location of new hazardous activities, but even here the options may be limited. There are few locations where new hazardous installations can be "shoehorned" into place without creating some risk to an existing community. The UK is a small, densely populated island and such undeveloped areas as do exist are often so remote or of such environmental value as to be unsuitable for industrial use.
It also remains the case that, to be economically viable, industries need to be sited where they are accessible to main transport routes and to sources of labour. This inevitably means that in making planning decisions about hazardous installations safety, however important, is only one of the elements to be considered. A balance has to be struck between the needs of industry, the needs of the community and the interests of safety. The HSE's role is to provide advice which will allow an informed decision to be made from a proper understanding of the risks involved.
Land use planning is covered by planning legislation in Great Britain, in particular, the Town and Country Planning The Planning (Hazardous Substances) Act 1990 and The Planning (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 1992 as amended by The Planning (Control of Major-Accident Hazards) Regulations 1999. These latter regulations implemented the land use planning requirements of the Seveso II Directive [Council Directive 96/82/EC of 9 December 1996].
There are a number of mechanisms for controlling the risks from hazardous installations.
The first is on the siting of new hazardous installations and the primary control is under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 via the Control of Major Accident Hazard Regulations 1999 [COMAH]. These require operators to submit a pre-construction safety report to HSE before construction can begin. Operators must also apply for a hazardous substances consent from the hazardous substance authority [HSA - usually the planning authority]. On application, the HSA is required to consult HSE as to the advisability or otherwise of the location of the installation. HSE will then advise on the residual risk that still remains when all reasonably practicable steps have been taken to ensure safety. HSE's role is purely advisory: it is for the HSA to take into account other economic or social factors that should be considered. If the consent is granted, HSE notifies to the planning authority (PA), a consultation zone around the installation within which it must be consulted on any further developments such as housing, shops, schools, hospitals and the like.
This brings us to the second mechanism for controlling risks around hazardous installations, the siting of other developments. All applications for planning permission beyond a certain size are required to be notified to HSE by the PA for advice as to their suitability in the vicinity of a major hazard site. This is required by the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995, Article 10 (d) and (zb). As above, HSE advises on the basis of the residual risk that remains after all reasonably practicable steps have been taken to ensure safety in compliance with HSWA. Again, HSE's role is purely advisory: it is for the PA to take into account other economic or social factors that should be considered.
Enforcement of COMAH is the responsibility of the Competent Authority (EA/SEPA & HSE). Enforcement of The Planning (Hazardous Substances) Act 1990 and its Regulations 1992 are the responsibility of the appropriate hazardous substances authority.
These have a number of definitions: the first is that in the Control of Major Accident Hazard Regulations 1999 and applies where a dangerous substance as listed in Schedule 1 Column 1 of the Regulations is present in a quantity equal to or exceeding the entry for that substance. Additional requirements fall on an establishment where the quantity is also in excess of that listed in column 3 of the Schedule.
The second is a derivative of the first and is taken from The Planning (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 1992 as amended by The Planning (Control of Major Accident Hazards) Regulations 1999. Again, a hazardous installation is defined by the presence of a substance at or above the threshold quantit.