Accident response
Accidents can happen anytime and anywhere. Even though, safety measures cannot completely guarantee prevention, they do greatly reduce the odds of an accident happening. Therefore, it is important to be trained in chemical disaster prevention, know what to do if it happens and what to do afterwards (liquidation and ensuring chemical safety).
In case of an accidental release of chemicals, after personal safety and safety of the staffis ensured it is important to refer to the section 6 of the SDS(s) of the chemicalsthat were released and follow the accidental release measures. In a case of a fire or an explosion please follow the fire safety rules.
Furthermore, it is important to know what to do in a case of a large-scale chemical incident. Information can be found in the Seveso (III) Directive 2012/18/EU.
The Seveso Directive aims at the prevention of major accidents involving dangerous substances. It also aims at limiting the consequences of such accidents not only for human health but also for the environment.
The Directive covers establishments where dangerous substances may be present (e.g. during processing or storage) in quantities above a certain threshold. Excluded from the Directive are certain industrial activities, which are subject to other legislation providing a similar level of protection (e.g. nuclear establishments or the transport of dangerous substances).