Scope
GOAL
Establish the criteria for determining which hazardous installations will fall within the scope of the Chemical Accidents Programme (including definitions of key terms).
It is necessary for all Chemical Accident Programmes to define the scope, in order to identify which installations and/or chemicals are subject to any requirements or policies of the Programme.
The statement of scope should be unambiguous to avoid confusion about whether an enterprise is subject to regulations. The objective should be to have a scope that is appropriate to your country’s context, that captures the installations of concern (including any hazardous installations that may be built in the future) but is not so broad that the Programme is impossible to administer or enforce.
Suggested activities include:
- Define key terms, such as installation, operator, accident, hazardous substances, hazardous installations
- Identify the types of activities or the types of activities or hazardous installations that will be included
o in many countries, this is defined by identifying the substances of concern and the related threshold quantities
o the substances generally includes classes of chemicals (toxic, explosive, flammable, reactive or hazardous to the environment), supplemented with specific chemicals
o some countries may decide to have different “tiers” of requirements based on different threshold quantities
o where there are limited resources, countries may decide to focus on specified industries, specific processes, or certain geographic areas
- Identify exclusions – which types or classes of installations are not subject to the Chemical Accidents Programme (for example, some countries specifically exclude transportation, nuclear facilities, or military installations).
Relevant tools
- UNEP: A Flexible Framework for addressing Chemical Accident Prevention and Preparedness – A Guidance Document (2010)
- OECD: Guiding Principles for Chemical Accident Prevention Preparedness and Response (2nd ed, 2003)
- WHO - General Information on International Health Regulations [accessed 2022]
- UNECE: Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals GHS Rev. 8 (2019)