Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
1999 No. 743
HEALTH AND SAFETY
The Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999
Made 11th March 1999
Laid before Parliament 11th March 1999
Coming into force 1st April 1999
The Secretary of State, being the designated1Minister for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19722in relation to measures relating to the prevention and limitation of the effects of accidents involving dangerous substances, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by the said section 2 and by sections 15(1), (2), (3), (4)(a) and (5)(b), 43(2) and (6) and 82(3)(a) of, and paragraphs 1(1) and (2), 15(1), 16, and 20 of Schedule 3 to, the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 19743(“the 1974 Act”) and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf and for the purpose of giving effect with modifications to proposals submitted to him by the Health and Safety Commission under section 11(2)(d) of the 1974 Act after the carrying out by the Commission of consultations in accordance with section 50(3) of that Act and after the Secretary of State consulting the Commission in respect of those modifications in accordance with section 50(2) of the Act, hereby makes the following regulations—
PART 1
INTRODUCTION
Citation and commencement
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999 and shall come into force on 1st April 1999.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
“the 1974 Act” means the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974;
“the 1984 Regulations” means the Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazards Regulations 19844;
“the Agency” in relation to an establishment in—
(a) England and Wales, means the Environment Agency,
(b) Scotland, means the Scottish Environment Protection Agency;
“CIMAH report” means a report sent to the Executive pursuant to regulations 7 or 8 of the 1984 regulations;
“competent authority” means the Executive and the Agency acting jointly;
“control” in relation to a person means control in the course of a trade, business or other undertaking carried on by him;
“dangerous substance” means (subject to regulation 3(3)(b)) a substance, mixture or preparation—
(a) listed in column 1 of Part 2 of Schedule 1, or,
(b) within a category specified in column 1 of Part 3 of Schedule 1,
and present as a raw material, product, by-product, residue or intermediate;
“the Directive” means Council Directive 96/82/ECon the control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances5;
“emergency services” means—
(a) those police, fire and ambulance services who are liable to be required to respond to an emergency at the establishment,
(b) where appropriate, Her Majesty’s Coastguard;
“establishment” means the whole area under the control of the same person where dangerous substances are present in one or more installations, and for this purpose two or more areas under the control of the same person and separated only by a road, railway or inland waterway shall be treated as one whole area;
“the Executive” means the Health and Safety Executive;
“existing establishment” shall be construed in accordance with paragraph (7);
“hazardous substances consent” means a hazardous substances consent granted under the Planning (Hazardous Substances) Act 19906or the Planning (Hazardous Substances) (Scotland) Act 19977;
“health authority”, in relation to England and Wales means a health authority established under section 8 of the National Health Service Act 19778and in relation to Scotland, means a health board established under section 2 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 19789;
“industrial activity” has the same meaning as in the 1984 Regulations;
“installation” means a unit in which dangerous substances present are, or are intended to be, produced, used, handled or stored, and it includes—
(a) equipment, structures, pipework, machinery and tools,
(b) railway sidings, docks and unloading quays serving the unit, and
(c) jetties, warehouses or similar structures, whether floating or not,
which are necessary for the operation of the unit;
“local authority” means—
(a) for the purposes of regulation 14, in relation to—
(i) the City of London, the Common Council for the City of London;
(ii) an area in the rest of London, the London Borough Council for that area;
(iii) the Isles of Scilly, the Council of the Isles of Scilly;
(iv) an area in the rest of England, the district council for that area or where there is no district council for that area, the county council for that area;
(v) an area in Scotland, the council for the local government area, and
(vi) an area in Wales, the county council or the county borough council for that area;
(b) for the purposes of other regulations, in relation to—
(i) London, the London Fire and Civil Defence Authority;
(ii) an area where there is a fire and civil defence authority, that authority;
(iii) the Isles of Scilly, the Council of the Isles of Scilly;
(iv) an area in the rest of England, the county council for that area, or where there is no county council for that area, the district council for that area;
(v) an area in Scotland, the council for the local government area;
(vi) an area in Wales, the county council or the county borough council for that area;
“major accident” means an occurrence (including in particular, a major emission, fire or explosion) resulting from uncontrolled developments in the course of the operation of any establishment and leading to serious danger to human health or the environment, immediate or delayed, inside or outside the establishment, and involving one or more dangerous substances;
“major accident prevention policy document” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 5(1);
“notify” means notify in writing and “notification” shall be construed accordingly;
“off-site emergency plan” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 10(1);
“on-site emergency plan” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 9(1);
“operator” shall be construed in accordance with paragraph (2);
“pipeline” means a pipeline to which the Pipelines Safety Regulations 199610applies;
“road” means—
(a) in relation to England and Wales, a road within the meaning of section 192(1) of the Road Traffic Act 198811;
(b) in relation to Scotland, a road within the meaning of the Roads (Scotland) Act 198412;
“safety report” means a report sent to the competent authority pursuant to regulation 7 or a part of a report sent to the competent authority pursuant to regulation 7(10) except that where any such report or part has been revised pursuant to regulation 8, it means the report or part as so revised.
(2) Any reference in these Regulations to an operator is a reference to a person who is in control of the operation of an establishment or installation (or in relation to an establishment or installation which is to be constructed or operated, the person who proposes to control its operation or, if that person is not known, the person who in the course of a trade, business or other undertaking carried on by him has commissioned its design and construction); and any duty imposed by these Regulations on him shall extend only in relation to that establishment or installation.
(3) Any reference in these Regulations to the presence of dangerous substances includes a reference to the anticipated presence of such substances and the presence of those which it is reasonable to believe may be generated during the loss of control of an industrial chemical process.
(4) Any reference in these Regulations to the storage of dangerous substances includes a reference to the presence of dangerous substances for the purposes of warehousing, depositing in safe custody or keeping in stock.
(5) Any reference in these Regulations to the start of construction or operation of an establishment is, subject to paragraph (6), a reference to the start of construction or operation, as the case may be, of the installation in the establishment, or where there is or is to be more than one installation in the establishment, the one whose construction or operation, as the case may be, is first started, and where an installation in an establishment has been constructed, or its construction has been started, before the coming into force of these Regulations, regulations 6(1) and 7(1) shall not apply in respect of that establishment.
(6) Where after the coming into force of these Regulations an establishment becomes subject to any of these Regulations by reason of any increase in the quantity of dangerous substances present there, any reference in that regulation to the start of operation of the establishment, is a reference to the time when the establishment first becomes so subject.
(7) Any reference in a regulation to an existing establishment is a reference to an establishment whose operation commenced before the coming into force of these Regulations and which, on the coming into force of these Regulations, is an establishment to which that regulation applies.
(8) The columns in Parts 2 and 3 of Schedule 1 shall be applied in accordance with the provisions of Part 1 of that Schedule and notes set out in each of those Parts.
(9) Any reference in these Regulations to—
(a)
(a) a numbered regulation or Schedule is a reference to the regulation in or Schedule to these Regulations so numbered, and
(b)
(b) a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph so numbered in the Regulation or Schedule in which the reference appears.
Application
3.—(1) These Regulations shall apply to an establishment where a dangerous substance listed in column 1 of Parts 2 or 3 of Schedule 1 is present in a quantity equal to or exceeding the quantity listed in the entry for that substance in column 2 of those Parts, except that regulations 7 to 14 shall apply only to an establishment where such a dangerous substance is present in a...
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