landesumweltamt brandenburg unece-workshop dr. abdulrahman abbas113 - 15 march 2003 subregional...

Landesumweltamt Brandenburg

UNECE-Workshop Dr. Abdulrahman Abbas

113 - 15 March 2003

Subregional Workshop on the Implementation of the UNECE-Industrial Accidents Convention

13-15 March 2003, Erevan, Armenia

German Experiences

on Safety Measures at Industrial Installations

Example of the State of Brandenburg

by Abdulrahman AbbasBrandenburg State Office for Environment, Germany



213 - 15 March 2003

Aim of both UN/ECE Convention and SEVESO II

• prevention of major industrial accidents involving dangerous substances

• limitation of the consequences of such accidents on man and the environment

In the case of transboundary effects:

Co-operation between UN/ECE countries and/or

EU member states before, through and after an accident



313 - 15 March 2003

Bayern

Hessen

BrandenburgNiedersachsen

Sachsen

Sachsen-Anhalt

Berlin

Thüringen

Schleswig-Holstein

Rheinland-Pfalz

Nordrhein-Westfalen

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Baden-Württemberg

Hamburg

Saarland

Bremen

Germany: 16 Federal States (Länder)

Brandenburg

2,6 Mio Inhabitants

29 476 km2

Density of population =88 inhabitants per km ²

Armenia

about 126 inhabitants per km ²



413 - 15 March 2003

German Democratic

Republic (GDR):……..

• code for environment

• TGL standards of the State of GDR

• TGL was a law

• all products, processes, technologies and production sequences were standardized

Federal Republic of Germany (FRG)………

• Federal Immission Control Act• Hazardous Incident Ordinance

• General Administrative Regulations for the Implementation of the Hazardous Incident Ordinance (binding for the Authority)

• Technical rules and standards (DIN Standards, …) as recommendations



513 - 15 March 2003

Art. 67a of Federal Immission Control Act

Notification of GDR installations, for which licensing required under the Federal Immission Control Act untill 31.12.90

within this period notifications not completed Installations had an existence guarantee, in condition

that no modifications were made on these installations

existence guarantee also apply to installations, that didn’t comply with the safety standards of FRG?

no alternative, except direct danger for man and environment

Exclusion of dangers by safety measures plans according to inspection programs



613 - 15 March 2003

…….

older LPG storage installations are permitted as long as they comply with the appropriate standards in the GDR

licensed aboveground storage tanks before to pass this Decree are permitted, when they are equipped with a fire protection isolation, that provides a minimum 90 minutes fire protection for the tank

.........

Brandenburg Decree from 19.01.1996



713 - 15 March 2003

1990 - 1991 Registration of installations

1992 - 1996 128 ASBK activities ( = inspections)

Program for the Inspection of process safety in Brandenburg (ASBK)

Checking, how is the actual state of the installation (hazards potential)

Use of SEVESO

Recommendation of safety measures: short, medium and long term

Checklists for typical industrial activities

Process installations and storage Storage of pesticides, insecticides, chemical substances and Storage of flammable substances and LPG



813 - 15 March 2003

Lacks we found:

Quantity of hazardous substances was unknown

Ownerships was not clear

- parts of the establishment were sold or shut-down

Necessity of safety report

Lacks of safety measures

Lacks or absense of documentation



913 - 15 March 2003

Aboveground storage tank

• 15 t propane (85 % filling degree)

• 2 safety valves

• level bearing device

• level and pressure measuring devices

• level sensor

• wind direction measuring device

Inspection of a LPG storge installation (1992):



1013 - 15 March 2003

• one-sided open

• height = truck -loading height

• full and empty gas cylinders

Provision storage



1113 - 15 March 2003

• area free from canalization and cellar opening

• no collision protection

Loading and unloading device



1213 - 15 March 2003

pump station:

• 2 pumps (1 standby pump) and fittings

• shut-down valve with linkage to remote control

• ventilation system



1313 - 15 March 2003

Examples for recommended safety measures

Installation of emergency shut-down system

Installation of gas detection system and its connecting to emergency shut-down system

Storage tank should be put underground

Installation of remote control fittings and valves (fire-safe and fail-safe )

Safety break away and dry-break couplings

Installation of suitable pump (magnet coupling pump)

Collision protection of loading and unloading device



1413 - 15 March 2003

Short term safety measures (0.5 to 1 year)

Safety user manuals

Explosion protection plan

Collision protection

Medium term safety measures (2 – 3 years)

remote control fittings and valves

emergency shut-down system

Long term safety measures (4 – 6 years)

Underground Storage tank

Safety measures plan, decided 1992



1513 - 15 March 2003

Petrochemical industry

Steel industry

Chemical industry



1613 - 15 March 2003

Safety Management System (SMS)

• large proportion (~ 2/3) of reported accidents caused by management failings

Great importance of Safety Management Systems in prevention of major accidents and limitation of their consequences

• SMS implements the Major-Accident Prevention Policy (MAPP)



1713 - 15 March 2003

Safety Management Systems

The issues of SMS:

Organization and personnel (including training)

Identification and evaluation of major hazards

Operational control

Management of change

Planning for emergencies

Monitoring performance

Audit and review of SMS



1813 - 15 March 2003

• Initiatives in the EU and in various countries over the last years

development of guidelines for SMS

aids to value it

• In Brandenburg

aid for the competent authorities

developed in State of NRW/Germany

Safety Management Systems



1913 - 15 March 2003

Authorities for immission protection required to identify “Domino Effects”

Three steps in Brandenburg

* Step 1

- Locate all establishments (considering industry parks )

- Consider their separation distances (lower tier 200 m, upper tier 500 m)

Domino Effects



2013 - 15 March 2003

* Step 2

- Considering the possible scenarios and estimating their effects

- Consulting with the operators

* Step 3

- Decision

Domino Effects



2113 - 15 March 2003

A modular structure is recommended

• Description MAPP and SMS,

• Description of the site and its environment

• Description for each of the installation

- safety analysis for an installation constitutes the main body of an installation module

• Description of the possible major-accident scenarios and

• emergency management

Safety report



2213 - 15 March 2003

Safety report Checking of the safety report

• Licensing authorities and occupational health and safety agencies

assess the completeness and correctness of the safety report

• Individual aspects may have to be assessed by independent experts



2313 - 15 March 2003

Inspection Inspections are not new in Brandenburg

• Inspections have been carried out under legislation on chemicals, pressure vessels, occupational health and safety, etc. for many years

Systematic inspections explicitly due to Seveso II / Major Accidents Legislation are a new task



2413 - 15 March 2003

Inspection In Brandenburg the inspection is the

responsibility of the authorities

Independent experts can be contracted in individual cases as an exception, not generally

The inspection consists of three steps:

• preparation: assessing the available documentation, reports, third party inspections



2513 - 15 March 2003

Inspection

• inspection visit: assessing the compliance with the documentation, function of the SMS, individual controls of safe operation

• inspection report: documentation of the visit, follow-up measures, general points relevant to safety



2613 - 15 March 2003

Inspection

Aid for the inspection visit: modular “tools” with contributions from various Federal States

Decision in Brandenburg:

• „Upper tier establishments” are to be inspected annually



2713 - 15 March 2003

All establishments in Brandenburg correspond to state-of-the-art of safety technology

Additional measures are taken to increase the process safety and to prevent major accidents according to the Seveso II Directive

Seveso II and the UN/ECE-convention requirements implemented successfully

Summary

landesumweltamt brandenburg unece-workshop dr. abdulrahman abbas113 - 15 march 2003 subregional...

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