Flammable liquids: what do facilities subject to ICPE authorization have to do?

Since the "post-Lubrizol" plan, authorized ICPEs storing flammable liquids have had to apply the more stringent requirements of the 2010 and 2020 decrees to guarantee their compliance.

Geoffrey Ponthier
EHS Consultant
Update : 
12.09.2025
Publication: 
29.03.2022
Contents
Example H2
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More than two years after the publication of the first texts in response to the fire at the Lubrizol company on September 26, 2019, the articulation of texts relating to classified facilities for the protection of the environment storing flammable liquids is gradually becoming clearer.

However, the application of regulations governing the storage of flammable liquids to those with ICPE authorizations is still open to question.

As your site is subject to ICPE authorization and stores flammable liquids, does it have to meet certain requirements? If so, which ones? Are you affected by these regulations, even if your facility is not subject to authorization for the flammable liquids stored?

Regulatory references: the decrees of October 3, 2010 and September 24, 2020...but not only

The first part of the "post-Lubrizol" plan, in addition to modifications to the requirements applicable to facilities subject to the 1510 heading (storage warehouses), provided a more precise framework for the operation of authorized facilities handling flammable liquids.

As a result, since September 2020, two texts have mainly served as regulatory benchmarks for authorized facilities storing flammable liquids:

  • l'arrêté du 3 octobre 2010 relatif au stockage en réservoirs aériens manufacturés de liquides inflammables, exploités au sein d'une installation classée pour la protection de l'environnement soumise à autorisation ;
  • the Order of September 24, 2020 on the storage of flammable liquids in mobile containers, operated within a facility classified for environmental protection and subject to authorization.

The first of these texts, already in existence before the accident on September 26, 2019, has been made more binding and its scope has been broadened, while the second has been newly introduced.

These texts have since undergone a number of changes, and their scope of application has been clarified.

Note Facilities formerly classified under the authorization regime under heading 1432 (having applied the Order of October 3, 2010) and now subject to Registration under heading 4331 may decide to apply the Order of the Order of June1, 2015.

Similarly, facilities still fully applying the Order of October 3, 2010 have been able to opt for compliance with the provisions of articles 14, 44 to 52, 58 and 59 of the Order of June 1, 2015, in place of the provisions of articles 43 to 50 of the Order of October 3, 2010. In this context, the operator must inform the prefect of the choice made before January 1, 2023.

Scope of application

Increased vigilance is required to determine whether these regulations apply to the storage of flammable liquids.

A facility may be affected by these regulations even if it does not have a flammable liquids storage facility subject to ICPE authorization. In other words, a facility that is not subject to authorization under one of the following headings (known as "flammable liquid headings") may be required to apply the Order of October 3, 2010 or the Order of September 24, 2020: n°1436, 4330, 4331, 4722, 4734, 4742, 4743, 4744, 4746, 4747 or 4748, or for crude oil under one or more of the headings nos. 4510 or 4511.

Specifically, the Order of October 3, 2010 applies to storage in in manufactured above-ground tanks of flammable liquids:

  • within a classified facility subject to authorization under one or more of the "flammable liquids" headings;
  • within a classified facility subject to authorization under one or more headings other than "flammable liquids", when the quantities likely to be present of the hazardous substance or mixture with a hazard statement H224, H225, H226 and of flammable liquid waste categorized as HP3 within all the facilities regulated by the prefectoral authorization order exceed 1,000 tonnes (quantity within all the facilities regulated by the prefectoral authorization order).

The Order of September 24, 2020 applies to storage in in mobile containers of flammable liquids:

  • within a classified facility subject to authorization under one or more of the "flammable liquids" headings;
  • within a classified facility subject to authorization under one or more headings other than "flammable liquids", where the quantities likely to be present of hazardous substances or mixtures with hazard statements H224, H225, H226 and flammable liquid waste categorized as HP3, within all the facilities regulated by the prefectoral authorization order, exceed 1,000 tonnes in total, or 100 tonnes in meltable containers (quantities within all the facilities regulated by the prefectoral authorization order).

For existing installations not subject to authorization under a "flammable liquids heading" and newly subject to one of these two decrees, the operator should have informed the prefect and the inspection authority for classified installations by January 1, 2022 at the latest. To this end, a description of the quantities of flammable liquids likely to be present, the characteristics of the storage facilities and an assessment of compliance with the requirements of the decree in question, which are applicable to them, were also to be transmitted.

The diagram below illustrates the scope of application of these two texts.

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There are two complementary concepts to keep in mind:

  • if a facility falls within the scope of these regulations, they apply to liquids with hazard symbols H224, H225 and H226, flash points between 60 and 93°C and flammable liquid waste categorized as HP3 present in all facilities regulated by the prefectoral authorization order;
  • the same storage of flammable liquids cannot be subject to both orders at the same time.

Publication of a guide specifying the scope and requirements of the Order of October 3, 2010 and the Order of September 24, 2020

This guide to the texts relating to facilities for storing and loading/unloading flammable liquids clarifies the regulations governing flammable liquids, in response to the changes introduced as part of the Lubrizol action plan.

These two texts are the subject of specific sections of the guide (sections B for the decree of October 3, 2010, and C for the decree of September 24, 2020).

In addition, Part A of the guide is a cross-cutting section designed to explain the scope of application of the regulations on flammable liquids, and in particular of these two decrees. The definition of flammable liquids is recalled, and details are given of flammable liquids covered by "flammable liquid headings" and those which, due to ICPE classification priorities, are not covered by a "flammable liquid heading" (e.g. hexane, heptane).

Conclusion

As part of the "Lubrizol action plan", regulations applicable to the storage of flammable liquids at authorized facilities have been significantly tightened.

We recommend that you :

  • define the administrative status of your site with regard to its classification under "flammable liquids" headings;
  • list the flammable liquid storage facilities on your site and categorize them by type: fixed above-ground or underground tanks, mobile containers, etc;
  • identify for each of these storages the text(s) to be applied;
  • if this is not already the case, and if your facility is concerned, make yourself known to the Prefect and the Classified Facilities Inspectorate, and provide a description of the quantities of flammable liquids likely to be present, the characteristics of the storage facilities, and an assessment of their compliance with the applicable requirements of the decree in question.

Photo credit422224191 @Oleksandr Delyk