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In response to the accident that occurred on September 26, 2019 in Rouen at the Lubrizol plant, classified as a Seveso high threshold facility, the French Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity announced last February an action plan designed to better prevent accidents likely to occur at industrial sites. A plan to tighten industrial risk prevention regulations was unveiled in April. Under public consultation since last June, this project primarily concerns Seveso establishments, and in particular those classified under the ICPE (installations classées pour la protection de l'environnement) nomenclature under one or more headings devoted to warehouses. The major challenge of this project is to prevent fires from breaking out.
The forthcoming final adoption of this project provides an opportunity to review the meaning of the term "Seveso establishment".
The origin of Seveso plants
Seveso is the name of a municipality in Italy. In 1976, a major industrial accident occurred there, caused by the overheating of a reactor manufacturing a chemical compound: the human and environmental consequences, linked to a release of dioxin, were considerable.
Although by no means the first accident of this type to occur on the Old Continent, it did have a major impact on European regulations. It prompted European countries to adopt a common policy on industrial risk prevention.
Directive 82/501/EEC of June 24, 1982 was adopted by the Council of the European Communities and published in the Official Journal of the European Communities (formerly the European Union) on August 5, 1982. Amended several times, this directive is known as the "Seveso 1 Directive". The "Seveso 2 Directive" was adopted in 1996 and replaced on July 4, 2012 by the "Seveso 3 Directive" (Directive 2012/18/EU).
As required by European law, European directives must be transposed into the domestic law of each of the member states of the European Union. It therefore fell to each member state to draw up its own national regulations in line with the objectives and goals set by the successive Seveso directives.
In practical terms, Seveso establishments are industrial plants that fall within the scope of the Seveso Directive, as well as the national regulations of the Member States through which the Directive is implemented.
Note: under French law, the operation of a Seveso facility is subject to prior environmental authorization.
Classification criteria for Seveso plants
Annex I of the Seveso 3 Directive identifies, in tabular form, a number of hazardous substances with associated thresholds. If these substances are present (and not just implemented/used) in an establishment in quantities exceeding these thresholds, the establishment may be considered a Seveso establishment, either "high threshold" or "low threshold".
These thresholds are qualified according to the quantities in which the hazardous substances are present. If, taken individually, hazardous substances are not present at an establishment in quantities greater than or equal to the threshold quantities associated with them, a calculation formula known as the "accumulation rule" must be applied to determine whether the establishment should be considered as Seveso low- or high-threshold.
The same logic can be found in French law. The introduction of 4XXX headings within the nomenclature of installations classified for environmental protection (ICPE) by Decree no. 2014-285 of March 3, 2014 reflected the then government's desire to remain as faithful as possible to the Seveso 3 Directive. Quite naturally, the structure of the fourth part of the ICPE nomenclature devoted to 4XXX headings is modelled on that of Annex I of the Seveso 3 Directive. The 4XXX headings are divided into eight series:
- 41XX => toxic substances
- 42XX => explosive substances
- 43XX => flammable substances
- 44XX => self-reactive, organic peroxides, pyrophorics and oxidizers
- 45XX => dangerous for the environment
- 46XX => other Seveso hazards
- 47XX and 48XX => named substances.
Architecture of national regulations governing Seveso establishments
The national provisions governing Seveso plants are set out in the following texts:
- law no. 2013-619 of July 16, 2013, which added a section 9 to chapter V of title I of book V of the environment code, dedicated to Seveso establishments (the section heading being "Installations classées pour la protection de l'environnement susceptibles de créer des accidents majeurs impliquant des substances dangereuses"). A number of legislative articles have been incorporated into this new section.
- decree no. 2014-284 of March 3, 2014. Above all, it is this decree that gives substance to this section of the Environmental Code, introducing a number of regulatory articles imposing compliance with strict rules on operators of Seveso establishments.
- arrêté du 26 mai 2014 relatif à la prévention des accidents majeurs dans les installations classées mentionnées à la section 9, chapitre V, titre Ier du livre V du code de l'environnement.
Other scattered provisions specific to Seveso plants can be found elsewhere, notably in the French Environment Code. However, the vast majority of provisions specifically devoted to Seveso plants are to be found in the texts listed above.
It should be emphasized that the Seveso regulations are part of a more general body of legislation known as industrial environmental law. Seveso establishments must therefore comply with the obligations applicable to them under these regulations.
Conclusion
The regulations governing Seveso plants are very specific and constantly changing. The stakes of these regulations are very high in terms of public health and safety and environmental protection.
Should we be happy about these forthcoming regulatory changes? Perhaps. However, it's unfortunate to note that it's the occurrence of an industrial disaster that has prompted a change in the rules governing the prevention of risks generated by the operation of Seveso facilities.
But isn't the main problem that industrial environmental law is insufficiently enforced? Of course, inspections are carried out by the authorities, through the inspection of classified installations, but the number of establishments to be inspected is huge, and in practice it is impossible to ensure that Seveso establishments comply with all the obligations applicable to them (and not only those specifically aimed at Seveso establishments... failure to comply with more general regulatory provisions can also lead to major accidents at Seveso establishments).