What does a safety report contain?

What it demonstrates

1. That the major accident prevention policy and the safety management system are implemented.
2. That major accident hazards and possible scenarios have been identified and the necessary measures taken.
3. That the plant, storage and equipment are designed, constructed, operated and maintained safely.
4. That internal emergency plans have been drawn up.
5. That the information needed for land-use decisions has been supplied.

What is inside it

• a description of the establishment and its surroundings,
• the inventory of dangerous substances and their hazardous properties,
• descriptions of the processes and storage,
• major accident scenarios, with likelihood and consequence assessment,
• preventive and mitigating measures — the barriers,
• the emergency organisation and its resources.

The report is never finished once

It is reviewed when something changes the major accident hazard, and at regular intervals; it is updated where needed. A review carried out in the absence of change is recorded as well.

A common weakness

Scenarios are copied from similar plants' reports rather than drawn from this plant's reality. The result is a document complete on paper and disconnected from the site: a barrier in the report is missing on site, a line on site is absent from the report. Comparing those two lists is usually an inspector's first move.