Containment of bulk hazardous liquids at COMAH establishments
(Responses due by 19 September 2007)
This consultation is now closed
This consultation seeks your views on our policy for the bulk storage of hazardous liquids. It is in response to the accident at the Buncefield fuel storage depot in 2005.
The proposed policy sets out ways to improve how we protect people and the environment, both on and off-site. It applies to sites that store and use large quantities of petrol and other fuels and are subject to the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations 1999.
The Health and Safety Executive, the Environment Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency act together as the Competent Authority for the COMAH regulations.
Incidents like Buncefield have highlighted deficiencies in the containment measures at existing sites and the harm these incidents can cause.
This policy represents our response to several of the recommendations made by the Buncefield Major Incident Investigation Board in their Design and Operations report, published in March 2007.
The policy would apply immediately to any new sites, so they comply with best practice. We estimate it could take up to 10 to 20 years for existing sites to upgrade to comply with the policy.
In the future, we’ll be consulting again on extending the policy to include COMAH sites that store and distribute large quantities of chemicals.
You can download the Containment Policy consultations document and the regulatory impact assessment (RIA) using the links on the left.
If you have any questions regarding the consultation please contact:
For primary containment issues - David Pascoe, HSE. Tel: 0151 951 4241. Email: david.pascoe@hse.gsi.gov.uk
For secondary containment issues - Aidan Whitfield, Environment Agency. Tel: 01733 464161. Email: aidan.whitfield@environment-agency.gov.uk
For tertiary containment issues - Roger Ward-Dutton, SEPA. Tel: 01224 248338. Email: roger.ward-dutton@sepa.org.uk