ICPE 1510 post-Lubrizol: impact on covered warehouses

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🔎 Key takeaways

Post-Lubrizol regulatory changes: Following the lessons learned from the industrial accident in Rouen (2019), regulations for heading 1510 have been tightened to improve risk prevention, clarify the definition of "combustible material," and mandate the presence of a roof.

Major overhaul of volume thresholds: The upper threshold for the Registration regime (and the lower threshold for Authorization) has been increased from 300,000 m³ to 900,000 m³. This increase significantly expands the scope of Registration at the expense of standard Authorization.

End of dual classifications: To simplify administrative management, dual classification has been eliminated for several materials (wood, paper/cardboard, plastics, polymers/tires). Once stored in a covered 1510 warehouse, they are now covered exclusively under this single heading.

Stricter safety and operational measures: The decree imposes a strict schedule of retroactive obligations, including maintaining a detailed inventory of stored materials, drafting a fire defense plan, managing the heights of flammable liquids, and updating Internal Operation Plans (POI) to ensure water supply for more than two hours.

Please note: This article concerns French legislation. The requirements described may not apply in other countries.

One year after the Lubrizol accident, regulations have been strengthened regarding industrial risk prevention and accident management. This evolution is part of the government's Lubrizol action plan, which aims to incorporate lessons learned from the major accident that occurred on September 26, 2019, in Rouen. What are the main measures impacting warehouses classified under heading 1510 ? This applies to the storage of combustible materials and products in covered warehouses. Sites not previously classified under this heading may now be subject to classification.

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What is a combustible material or product?

Combustible materials or products are those, including waste, that are not classified as non-combustible.

Non-combustible: materials or products consisting solely of substances classified as A1 or A2-s1-d0 under the decree of November 21, 2002, or materials or products qualified as non-combustible following tests conducted according to a protocol recognized by the Ministry of the Environment.

Examples of combustible materials covered: packaging, pallets, plastic film, textiles, cardboard, etc.

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Who is now affected by ICPE heading 1510?

Heading ICPE 1510 regarding covered warehouses now covers facilities with a roof (new), dedicated to the storage of combustible materials or products in quantities exceeding 500 tonnes (unchanged), exceeding the classification thresholds, unless these facilities are:

warehouses used for the storage of materials, products, or substances otherwise classified under a single heading of this nomenclature (*)
or buildings intended exclusively for the storage of motor vehicles and their trailers (unchanged)
or public access buildings (ERP) (unchanged)
or exclusively refrigerated warehouses (**)

(*) New: a warehouse is considered to be used for the storage of products classified under a single heading of the nomenclature as soon as the total quantity of other combustible materials or products present in that warehouse is less than or equal to 500 tonnes.

Please note: storage facilities classified under 4XXX headings or under headings 1511, 1530, 1532, 2160, 2662, 2663 may now be subject to heading 1510 depending on the quantity of combustible materials/products, whereas previously these storage facilities were not necessarily classified under heading 1510.

(**) New definition: a warehouse is exclusively refrigerated if the quantity of combustible materials or products other than those kept in the refrigerated warehouse (temperature and/or humidity conditions regulated and maintained at a temperature of 18°C or less, depending on the specific storage criteria for the products) is less than or equal to 500 tonnes.

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How to classify: an upcoming application guide

The Ministry of Ecological Transition is now applying its Application guide for heading 1510 (updated June 2024). This official document definitively clarifies the calculation methods for complex configurations (multiple buildings, dispersed stocks, work-in-progress).

It notably introduces a strict cumulative rule: if two covered warehouses containing combustible materials are located less than 40 meters apart, their volumes must be added together to determine the classification regime (Declaration, Registration, or Authorization).

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What changes for classification thresholds?

A new criterion to consider

Warehouse construction projects subject to systematic environmental assessment are now subject to the authorization regime, regardless of their volume.

* applies to works and construction projects creating a ground footprint of 40,000 m² or more in areas other than:

urban zones known as “U zones” where a local urban plan is in effect;
sectors where construction is permitted, where a municipal map is in effect;
urbanized parts of the municipality, in the absence of an applicable local urban plan or municipal map.

Want to learn more about the environmental obligations for ICPE heading 1510 ?

What about volumes?

The authorization regime has been relaxed. The lower threshold for this regime has been increased from 300,000 m³ to 900,000 m³ (warehouse volume).

Consequently, the registration regime has been expanded. The upper threshold for this regime has been increased from 300,000 m³ to 900,000 m³(warehouse volume).

The declaration regime remains unchanged and still applies to volumes of 5,000 m³ but less than 50,000 m³(warehouse volume).

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Dual classification with ICPE heading 1510 has been eliminated for certain types of storage

When carried out within a warehouse classified under heading 1510, storage activities for:

paper/cardboard or combustible materials (heading 1530);
wood (heading 1532);
plastics (heading 2662);
tires and products where at least 50% of the total unit mass consists of polymers (heading 2663);

are no longer classified under their respective headings but must be integrated and encompassed within heading 1510.

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Fire prevention and management

The decree of April 11, 2017 ("AMPG 1510"), as amended by post-Lubrizol reforms, sets the general requirements applicable to covered warehouses subject to declaration, authorization, or registration under heading 1510. It was amended to strengthen requirements for fire prevention and management. It imposes enhanced requirements for which the implementation deadlines have now all passed.

Affected sites must be in full compliance with the following points:

Insurance reports (since January 1, 2021): Requirement to make risk inspection reports (recommendations resulting from the insurer's risk analysis) available to inspectors.
Real-time inventory (since January 1, 2022): Maintenance of a permanent, detailed and localized record of stored materials for facilities subject to registration or authorization.
Update of Internal Emergency Plans (POI) (since January 1, 2022): Integration into the Internal Emergency Plan (POI) of environmental cleanup methods following an incident, and procedures to ensure water supply beyond 2 hours.
Fire protection (since January 1, 2022 / December 31, 2023): Justification of the permanent availability of trained personnel (January 2022) and full finalization of the fire protection plan (December 2023).
Liquid storage (since January 1, 2023 or 2026, depending on the case): Strict compliance with storage height limits for hazardous liquid materials.
Separation distances (since January 1, 2025): Compliance with minimum regulatory distances between the external walls of warehouse cells and any outdoor storage areas.
Impact studies (past deadlines): Completion of thermal effect and smoke dispersion studies, with the implementation of required compensatory measures (sprinkler systems, REI 120 firewalls).

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Summary

Warehouse volume or condition	New ICPE regime	Post-Lubrizol regulatory specifics
Project subject to mandatory environmental assessment (e.g. footprint ≥ 40,000 m² outside urban/developed zones)	Authorisation (A)	New mandatory assessment criterion, regardless of warehouse volume.
Volume of 900,000 m³ or more	Authorisation (A)	Threshold relaxed (raised from 300,000 m³ to 900,000 m³). Subject to a mandatory enhanced Internal Emergency Plan (POI).
Volume of 50,000 m³ or more but less than 900,000 m³	Registration (E)	Significantly broadened regime following the raised upper threshold. Requirement to keep a detailed record of materials stored.
Volume of 5,000 m³ or more but less than 50,000 m³	Declaration with periodic inspection (DC)	Thresholds unchanged, but new periodic inspection points introduced, carried out by approved bodies.

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Conclusion

As part of the Lubrizol action plan, regulations governing the storage of combustible materials and products in covered warehouses have been significantly strengthened.

We recommend that you:

while awaiting the updated application guide, inventory the combustible materials stored in warehouses on your site, specifically noting the associated tonnage and the volume of the warehouse;
once the guide is published, determine whether you fall under heading 1510 based on the classification criteria provided in the guide;
if you are classified under heading 1510:
- submit a request for grandfathering rights to the authorities before January 1^st , 2022
- identify the applicable requirements of the 1510 ministerial order and implement them

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Photo credit: Marcin Jozwiak