European Communities (Major Accident Hazards of Certain Industrial Activities) Regulations, 1986

• Jurisdiction: Ireland

S.I. No. 292 of 1986.
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (MAJOR ACCIDENT HAZARDS OF CERTAIN INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES) REGULATIONS, 1986.
ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS
Preliminary and General
Regulation
1. Citation.
2. Commencement.
3. Interpretation.
4. Determination of indicative criteria.
5. Competent authorities.
6. Immunity of competent authorities, etc.
7. Exclusions.
8. Savings.
Major Accident Hazards
9. Demonstration of safe operation and storage.
10. General duties of manufacturers.
11. Industrial activities to which Regulations 12 to 18 apply.
12. Notification of industrial activities, etc.
13. Reports relating to notifications, etc.
14. Investigation of details of notification, etc.
15. On-site emergency plans.
16. Off-site emergency plans.
17. Supplementary provisions to Regulations 16.
18. Information for the safety of the public, etc.
19. Notice for information.
Major Accidents, etc.
20. Scene of major accident.
21. Notification of major accidents.
22. Examination and tests of plant, etc.
23. Special reports on major accidents by inspector.
24. Power to direct formal investigation.
25. Inquest in case of death by major accident.
26. Notifiable incidents and register.
Enforcement and Regulation
27. Inspectors.
28. Certificate of appointment as inspector.
29. General powers of inspectors.
30. Powers of inspectors for purpose of safeguarding persons, etc.
31. Application to High Court by Central Competent Authority relating to dangerous conditions and practices.
Disclosure of Information, Translations of Reports, etc.
32. Restrictions on disclosure of information.
33. Translations of reports, ect.
Offences and Penalties
34. Offences.
35. Onus of proof.
36. Liability of manufacturers, etc.
37. Liability of directors and officers of bodies corporate.
38. Forgery, etc., of documents.
39. Personation, etc.
40. Obstruction, etc., of inspector or authorised officer.
41. Penalties.
42. Prosecution of offences.
FIRST SCHEDULE
Annex I to Council Directive 82/501/EEC
SECOND SCHEDULE
Annex II to Council Directive 82/501/EEC
THIRD SCHEDULE
Annex III to Council Directive 82/501/EEC
FOURTH SCHEDULE
Annex IV to Council Directive 82/501/EEC
FIFTH SCHEDULE
Part I
Information to be included in a notification under Regulation 12 (1)
Part II
Annex V to Council Directive 82/501/ EEC
SIXTH SCHEDULE
Annex VI to Council Directive 82/501/EEC
SEVENTH SCHEDULE
Information to be included in a declaration under Regulation 12 (3)
EIGHTH SCHEDULE
Notifiable Incidents
S.I. No. 292 of 1986.
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (MAJOR ACCIDENT HAZARDS OF CERTAIN INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES) REGULATIONS, 1986.
I, RUAIRÍ QUINN, Minister for Labour, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive 82/501/EEC of 24th June 1982*, hereby make the following Regulations:
*O.J. No. L 230, 5. 8. 1982, pp. 1-18.
Preliminary and General
	1 Citation.	1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Major Accident Hazards of Certain Industrial Activities) Regulations, 1986.
	2 Commencement.	2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of September, 1986.
	3 Interpretation	3. (1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
"the Central Competent Authority" has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 5;
"competent authorities" means the authorities to which Regulation 5 applies for the purpose of carrying out the functions assigned to them under these Regulations and to which Article 7 of the Directive relates;
"dangerous substances" means, subject to Regulations 9 and 11—
(a) the substances generally considered to fulfil the indicative criteria laid down in Annex IV to the Directive (which is set out in the Fourth Schedule),
(b) the substances or group of substances specified in Annex II to the Directive (which is set out in the Second Schedule) in quantities to which that Annex relates for the purpose of the application of Articles 3 and 4 and Article 5 of the Directive, and
(c) the substances specified in Annex III to the Directive (which is set out in the Third Schedule) in quantities to which that Annex relates for the purpose of the application of Article 5 of the Directive;
"the Directive" means Council Directive 82/501/EEC of 24 June 1982*, on major accident hazards of certain industrial activities;
*O.J. No. L 230, 5. 8. 1982, pp. 1-18.
"establishment" means—
(a) the whole of an area of land under the control of a manufacturer and includes any pier, jetty or similar structure, whether floating or not, or
(b) any other structure, whether floating or not, which is within the internal waters of the State and under the control of a manufacturer;
"existing industrial activity" means an industrial activity which is not a new industrial activity;
"functional area", in relation to a local competent authority, has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 5;
"functions", in relation to competent authorities, includes powers and duties and a reference to the performance of a function includes, with respect to powers, a reference to the exercise of a power;
"industrial activity" means—
(a) any operation carried out in an industrial installation referred to in Annex I to the Directive (which is set out in the First Schedule) involving, or possibly involving, one or more dangerous substances and capable of presenting major accident hazards, and includes transport carried out within the establishment for internal reasons and storage associated with any such operation within the establishment, and
(b) isolated storage;
"inspector", in relation to the Central Competent Authority, means an officer of the Minister appointed under Regulation 27 to act as an inspector for the purposes of these Regulations;
"internal waters" has the same meaning as it has in the Maritime Jurisdiction Act, 1959 (No. 22 of 1959);
"isolated storage" means the storage of dangerous substances or groups of substances in circumstances and quantities to which Annex II to the Directive relates;
"land" includes any land covered with water;
"local authority" means—
(a) in the case of a county other than any borough, the council of the county,
(b) in the case of a county or other borough, the corporation of the borough, and
(c) in the case of an urban district, the council of the urban district;
"local competent authority" shall be construed in accordance with Regulation 5;
"major accident" means an occurrence such as a major emission, fire or explosion resulting from uncontrolled developments in the course of an industrial activity, leading to a serious danger—
(a) to man, whether immediate or delayed or whether it occurs inside or outside the establishment, or
(b) to the environment,
and involving one or more dangerous substances;
"manufacturer" means a person responsible for an industrial activity and, where the context allows, includes a person who proposes to be responsible for an industrial activity;
"the Minister" means the Minister for Labour;
"new industrial activity" means an industrial activity—
(a) which began after the commencement of these Regulations, or
(b) in respect of which there has been a modification after the commencement of these Regulations which would be likely to have important implications for major accident hazards and that activity shall be deemed to have begun from the date on which the modification was made operational;
"notifiable incident" has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 26;
"Off-site emergency plan" has the meaning assigned it by Regulation 16;
"on-site emergency plan" has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 15;
"plant" includes any machinery, equipment, component or appliance.
(2) In these Regulations any reference to Annex I, II, III, IV, V or VI to the Directive is a reference to the relevant Annex as set out in the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth or Sixth Schedule, respectively, to these Regulations.
(3) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Directive has, unless the contrary intention appears, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Directive.
(4) (a) A reference in these Regulations to a Regulation or a Schedule is to a Regulation of or a Schedule to these Regulations unless it is indicated that a reference to some other enactment is intended.
(b) A reference in these Regulations to a paragraph or subparagraph is to the paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.
	4 Determination of indicative criteria.	4. (1) The methods of determination of indicative criteria laid down in Annex IV to the Directive shall—
(a) in relation to any flammable substance or explosive substance to which the said Annex IV relates, be in accordance with Annex V to Council Directive 67/548/EEC of 27th June, 1967*,
*O.J. No. 196, 16. 8. 1967, pp. 234-256.
(b) in relation to any very toxic substance or any other toxic substance to which the said Annex IV relates, be in accordance with Annex V to Council Directive 67/548/EEC whenever the Central Competent Authority is of the opinion that other methods of determination are not reliable.
(2) Where an opinion of the Central Competent Authority to which paragraph (1) (b) relates purports to be contained in any document which—
(a) purports to have been made by or at the direction of the Authority, and
(b) is produced in evidence by an officer of the Authority in any proceedings,
such document shall be admissible in evidence and shall be evidence of the opinion in such proceedings without further proof.
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