WIREDGOV

The Danish EU Presidency has brokered a new agreement with the European Parliament. European citizens will in the near future be able to see if they have Seveso sites in their neighbourhood on the internet.

The EU is tightening the requirements of the Seveso directive in order to prevent accidents with hazardous chemicals such as fireworks. In the near future, EU citizens will be able to access information on Seveso sites in their neighbourhoods and see how to react in an emergency from the comfort of their homes by the click of a mouse. Also, with the new rules European citizens will be able to go to the courts when they think their views have not been taken into account if a new Seveso site is established to close to their homes.

The chairwoman of EU’s Ministers of the Environment Ida Auken has brokered an agreement with the European Parliament to tighten the Seveso Directive. The purpose of the directive is to prevent accidents with hazardous substances in industry and to mitigate the consequences of accidents on humans and the environment.

“In a step by step negotiation the Danish EU Presidency has reached an agreement on a directive which is more ambitious in scope than the current directive. For me it has been crucial that citizens can feel secure in their homes even though they live close to a company that handles dangerous substances. All Danes remember the accident on the fireworks factory in the Danish town of Seest. The new rules will strengthen the preventative measures for this type of accidents in the future, ” says Ida Auken, Danish Minister for the Environment.    

The Danish EU Presidency has among other things secured agreement that the directive in the future will apply to more of the sites which handle substances that are dangerous to inhale. At the same time all Seveso sites will have to prepare an accident prevention policy, which will require them to progressively improve their level of safety.

The rules will enter into force in 2015 and will secure the following:
• Greater openness to citizens. The authorities will publish information on the internet on the location of Seveso sites as well as information on how to react in an emergency.
• All Seveso sites will have to prepare an accident prevention policy, which means that Seveso sites will have to progressively improve on their level of safety.
• EU citizens will have access to testing the authorities decisions on subjects such as planning decisions on the required distance between Seveso sites and housing in the courts.
• More of the sites that handle substances that are dangerous to inhale will be covered by the directive.

Background
Seveso sites are companies which store large amounts of dangerous substances such as fireworks, oil and petrol or toxic chemicals.

The Seveso directive contains guidelines on the prevention of major accidents with dangerous substances as well as guidelines on reducing the consequences of accidents. The directive rules apply to member states and companies in member states. The directive requires that Seveso sites have a safety report, emergency plans plus other land use planning, site inspections from the competent authorities as well as information available to citizens etc. The dangerous substances that the directive applies to are listed in the annexes of the directive with associated threshold values.

The recast of the directive has partly been in response to new globalised rules on classification of chemical substances. However the directive has brought other significant changes of importance to the european citizens.

Further information
Lone Kielberg, T: 7254 4150/40613881, e-mail: lokie@mst.dk
Michael Bjørnsen, T: 7254 4567, e-mail: micbj@mst.dk
Kirsten Vielwerth, T: 72 54 60 33, e-mail: kirst@mim.dk