TABLE OF CONTENTS The Third Report of the Advisory Committee on Major Hazards (Harvey, 1984) contains an appendix on The Siting of Developments in the Vicinities of Major Hazards: HSE s Draft Guidelines to Planning Authorities. The full text, which is reproduced by courtesy of the HM Stationery Office, is given below.
The control of risks from major hazards may be achieved in various ways, for example:
limit the amount of hazardous material present;
reduce the likelihood of an accidental release of material;
plan for emergencies;
reduce the number of people exposed to risk.
Some of these measures may be taken within the installation, particularly at the project planning stage.
In many cases the situation in the installations is already fixed and the scope for improvement under the HSW Act is fully utilized. Even so, there may remain some residual risk. It is unlikely that the residual risk could justify the removal of existing populations by the termination of viable land uses. However, it is possible to inhibit an increase in the population at risk by control of new developments under planning legislation.
It is the purpose of HSE s advice to facilitate planning control where appropriate. Planning authorities are expected to include the factor of risk in their consideration of a planning decision. Thus, the types of development near...
