On 21 December the European Commission presented draft legislation to strengthen rules on the control of major accident hazards involving chemicals. The revision of the so-called Seveso II Directive will align the legislation to changes in EU chemicals law and will clarify and update other provisions, with the objective to establish stricter rules and improve the level and quality of information available to the public in the event of an accident.

The Seveso II Directive and its predecessor, Seveso I, were prompted by a major accident at a chemical plant in Seveso, Italy, in 1976, with the objective of preventing accidents involving large quantities of hazardous substances. These rules applied to around 10,000 industrial establishments in the European Union.

The review proposed by the Commission for the rules concerning chemical industries safety was launched because of the adoption of rules to align the EU classification system to the UN Globally Harmonised System, in order to ensure that the same hazards are described and labelled in the same way all around the world. Other important changes proposed include stronger provisions relating to public access to safety information, participation in decision-making and access to justice, and improvements to the way information is collected, managed, made available and shared.

The proposal also introduces stricter standards for inspections of installations to ensure the effective implementation and enforcement of safety rules. The remaining changes are technical modifications including simplifications to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens. The revision should maintain and improve current levels of protection without significantly affecting costs.

The proposed new Directive follows a review process that included stakeholder consultation and various studies on the effectiveness of existing rules and the impact of possible options for improvements.