Introduction

In our days it is especially important and a complex task at the same time to protect the public on high level. Industrial safety embraces four special fields in Hungary: the supervision of dangerous establishments, the control of the transportation of dangerous goods, the protection of critical infrastructure and the prevention of nuclear accidents.

Act 2011 CXXVIII. on disaster management and on the amendment of individual, related acts (disaster management act) [1] and the regulation 219/2011 (X. 20.) on the protection against major accidents involving dangerous substances (hereinafter: implementation regulation) [2] - in line with the European and international regulation - clearly define the scope of activities covered by the regulations, the tasks of the authorities related to the activities, the tasks of the operators of dangerous establishments, of the government and municipalities related to the prevention of and preparation for major accidents, and to the emergency management of the same and also the obligations related to the information to the public.

In this article the authors will analyse the professional activities of the Hungarian disaster management organisations regarding the emergency planning of dangerous industrial establishments.

Control of dangerous establishments by industrial safety authority

The new legal regulations impose requirements in addition to current regulations on those operators as well whose industrial sites are used for the simultaneous storage of dangerous materials which exceed one fourth of the lower tier limits but do not reach the lower tier limits set forth by the applicable legal provisions.

The Disaster Management Directorates as first degree authorities can pose a requirement on any commercial organization for providing information to ascertain whether the specific establishment falls within the scope of the disaster management law, and the authorities may conduct an on-site supervisory inspection. Disaster Management Directorates have been devoting great attention to the inspection of commercial organizations not showing an acceptable behaviour in implementing the legal provisions as required, for which the Directorates may employ the available and legally instituted instruments of on-site official inspections, intermittent inspections, inspections regarding internal safety plan exercises, supervisory inspections, and official inspections subsequent to dangerous events.

The disaster management authority makes a decision on granting the disaster management license on the basis of the demonstrated facts in the safety documentation and in the so called “major incident management plan”, or if the situation so requires a decision is made on the limitation or suspension of the dangerous activities.

In the course of the licensing procedure the authority conducts inspections on the site of each of the establishments and examines the accuracy of information describer in the safety documentations, such as the safety reports, the safety analyses or the major incident management plans.

The safety documentation must include the analyses of the establishments’ dangerous effects, the prevention and response measures, as well as the deployment and implementation orders and conditions of actions taken towards the mitigation of the adverse effects of major accidents involving dangerous substances. Based on the identification and in-depth analysis of major accident hazards regarding dangerous substances within the documentation the operator determines the possibilities and adverse impacts of the release of dangerous substances into the environment. Along with this the dispersion of the dangerous substances or their physical effects and the damage impact indicators on persons, material assets and the environment are defined as well. Operators are also required to demonstrate the establishments’ management and safety equipment systems dedicated to the prevention and management of major accidents involving dangerous substances and their effects which will ensure a high level of protection for health and the environment.

Emergency management planning system of dangerous establishments

The paramount goal of emergency management planning in Hungary is to create a standardized system of documents by means of the identification and analysis of various endangering factors, containing disaster management tasks and actions with the allocated human resources, finances and technical means.

Emergency management planning helps in every case minimize consequences, where an accident causing serious damage to the environment or to the public can occur. It integrates the order, implementation of disaster management tasks and actions into a standard system, by allocating the necessary human resources, funds and technical means.

The levels of emergency management planning are:

a) settlement emergency plan,

b) workplace emergency plan,

c) the summarized plan of the local organisation of the official emergency management organisation,

d) regional (county or capital) emergency management plan,

e) central (national level) emergency management plan.

In the plans first of all the conditions of emergency management in the course of the dangerous situation and the actions to be taken within a short time after the accident and the key decisions that can significantly influence the success of the mitigating actions. On this basis it is clear that the deep understanding of the probable scenario of the events and of the counter-actions is very useful for those who can play a role in the emergency response and damage control.

In the sense of the IV-th chapter of the Disaster Management Act. the operator of the establishment dealing with dangerous substances prepares an internal emergency plan in order to eliminate the consequences of the dangers described in the safety report (upper tier site) or in the safety analysis (lower tier site).

The provisions of the safety analysis and safety report regarding the prevention and control of major accidents related to dangerous substances shall be elaborated in such a way as to ensure the high-level protection of human health and the environment. To this end it has to cover also the concept regarding the resources and tools, organisation and management system required for an efficient emergency management system.

The safety documentation that includes the internal emergency plan as well, is revised and if necessary modified by the operator in case of an establishment dealing with dangerous substances in the cases stipulated in the execution regulations (government decrees), but at least every five years. The operator sends the result of the revision and the modified safety analysis or report to the disaster management authority. The authority decides on the basis of the safety report or analysis received about the extension of the permit or about requiring prevention or consequence mitigation measures.

Conclusions and summary

In the field of the prevention of major accidents involving dangerous substances another important element besides prevention is the introduction of measures for preparedness for and response to accidents. A key element in the efficiency of such measurements is the interlocking of internal and external emergency plans. Additionally successful cooperation has to be worked out between the dangerous establishment and the organizations responsible for response and intervention through the preparation and training of the internal and external emergency plans.

References

1. A katasztrófavédelemről és a hozzá kapcsolódó egyes törvények módosításáról szóló 2011. évi CXXVIII. törvény (Act 2011/CXXVIII. on disaster management and on the amendment of individual, related acts)

2. A katasztrófavédelemről és a hozzá kapcsolódó egyes törvények módosításáról szóló 2011. évi CXXVIII. törvény végrehajtásáról szóló 234/2011. (XI. 10.) Korm. rendelet (Government regulation implementing 2011 CXXVIII. on disaster management no. 234/2011 (XI. 10.))