MEDWAY COUNCIL COMAH OFF-SITE EMERGENCY PLAN ...

ABRIDGED - Medway Council Off-site Emergency Plan – National Grid Grain LNG Ltd.
1. Legal Requirements
MEDWAY COUNCIL NATIONAL GRID GRAIN LNG LTD
OFF-SITE EMERGENCY PLAN
1.1 The Control of Major Accident Hazard Regulations 1999 (COMAH) require a site
operator to produce on-site emergency plans for establishments where:
• a dangerous substance is stored in quantities listed in
Schedule 1 of the Regulations or
• a specified dangerous substance could be produced in
threshold quantities following the loss of control of an
industrial chemical process.
1.2 The local authority for this area, Medway Council, is responsible for producing an
off-site plan that outlines the coordinated response of agencies to an emergency
that has off-site implications. The on-site and off-site plans need to correspond to
ensure that an effective multi-agency response to an emergency affecting the
site and the surrounding area is achieved. The objectives of these as determined
in the COMAH Regulations are:
• to contain and control incidents so as to limit damage to persons, the
environment and property;
• to implement the measures necessary to protect persons and the
environment from the effects of major accidents;
• to communicate the necessary information to the public and to the
emergency services and authorities;
• to provide for the restoration and clean–up of the environment following a
major accident.
1.3 It is a requirement of the COMAH Regulations that the emergency plans, on-site
and off-site, should be tested and reviewed at least once every three years.
The “competent authority” responsible for enforcing the COMAH Regulations in
England and Wales is comprised of the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and the
Environment Agency.
A major accident as defined in the COMAH Regulations means;
“An occurrence (including in particular, a major emission, fire or explosion)
resulting from uncontrolled developments in the course of the operation of any
establishment and leading to serious danger to human health or the environment,
immediate or delayed, inside or outside the establishment, and involving one or
more dangerous substances”.
June 2011 Page 10 of 52