20 February set to change COMAH and REACH coverage: warning 18 February 2014

An HSE amendment to new legislation for the control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances (Seveso III) – which comes into force in June 2015 – may catch some plants out.

That's the warning from health and safety legislation specialist Cedrec, which explains that, when Seveso III comes in, there will initially be a new dangerous substances classification aimed at improving "public access to safety information, participation in decision-making and access to justice".

The Seveso III Directive will be implemented through new COMAH (Control of Major Accident Hazards) regulations and planning legislation.

Cedrec director Gareth Billinghurst says that "whole swathes of UK industry" will be affected – from military installations to pipeline operators, mines and quarries, landfill sites and offshore installations.

But that's not all. He worries that many of those responsible for health and safety are under-prepared for, or simply unaware of, a proposed alteration to re-categorise heavy fuels (HFO) as 'petroleum products' much sooner – indeed from 20 February 2014.

HSE's amendment will move HFO from 'dangerous for the environment' to 'petroleum products', thereby increasing the qualifying threshold before COMAH and Planning Hazardous Substances become applicable.

In the UK, it is still unclear what this will mean for the next generation of COMAH, says Billinghurst, but such re-categorisation means many organisations could now fall under REACH (Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals).

"REACH is now well underway, as substances are evaluated and tested. The result of this could mean the chemicals you use and produce are re-classified as a higher risk or even restricted. You could then fall into a different tier under COMAH," explains Billinghurst.

"There is still uncertainty surrounding the new directive, with the results of the consultation over the HSE's proposed amendments not due until the summer," he continues.

Billinghurst believes that attempting to navigate the changes is likely to be difficult, even for those with responsibility for compliance, facilities management and health and safety.

"Organisations need to have COMAH on their long distance radar and start to prepare themselves now for the new legislative landscape," he warns.

Brian Tinham

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