Siting and land-use planning

• Pages: 50-50

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10. Siting and land-use planning

10.1. Competent authorities should establish arrangements to ensure that new

major hazard installations are appropriately separated from people living or working

nearby. These arrangements should take full account of both the relative likelihood

of a major accident and its consequences, allowing for any special local factor.

10.2. Additionally, they should seek to ensure that these arrangements prevent

inappropriate developments being built close to any hazard installations, especially

where these developments will contain significant numbers of people.

10.3. Competent authorities should obtain specialist advice from a designated

source within their country, such as the Group of Experts, to enable them to

formulate a policy for the siting of new major hazard installations and the use of

land near all such installations.

10.4. This policy with regard to proposed developments near major hazard

installations should take account of the following factors concerning the proposed

development, as appropriate:

– the proportion of time spent by individuals in the development (e.g. homes,

shops, hotels);

– the size of the development in terms of number of users at any one time;

– ease of evacuation or other measures in the event of an emergency on site;

– vulnerability of individuals using the development (e.g. children, disabled

people, elderly people);

– physical features of the development (e.g. height of buildings, type of

construction).

10.5. Competent authorities should, where appropriate, apply this policy to

designate zones around major hazard installations, with clear guide-lines as to what

types of developments are appropriate for each zone.

10.6. This policy should seek to ensure that sensitive developments such as

schools, hospitals and homes for the elderly are placed further away from the major

hazard installation than developments such as factories and normal housing.

10.7. In addition, competent authorities should designate zones suitable for

new major hazard installations which will depend on the type and maximum

quantity of hazardous substances proposed for the new installations.

10.8. Competent authorities should examine all existing major hazard

installations to determine whether their separation from nearby developments is

consistent with their policy. Where it is not, they should consider whether it is

appropriate to seek improvements.