Land-use planning in the vicinity of chemical sites: risk-informed decision making at a local community level.

ABSTRACT

Land-use planning with respect to major accident hazards is one of the new requirements of the 'Seveso II Directive'. On top of this requirement, but also recognising the importance of the issue for the control of major accidents, the various European Member States have developed or are developing adequate procedures, approaches and criteria for the acceptability of hazards or risk. At a national level, various criteria are in use based either on 'generic distances', or on the level of consequences, or on the level of risk. At a regional and local level, however, local particularities and the presence of multiple and usually conflicting objectives - such as reduction of risk with simultaneous increase of the benefit from exploitation of land - seem to be of great importance in decision making. The paper focuses especially on the local level and it presents a methodological framework to take these conflicting objectives into account. Furthermore, it discusses the application of this methodology in an interesting case study and it demonstrates the useful insights and the substantial aid with which local planners can be provided.