*Safety Science Group, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands

**SAVE Consulting Scientists, the Netherlands

NIVRIM - A lower tier Seveso II inspection tool

Abstract

The Seveso II Council Directive requires periodical inspections of the major hazards establishments by the authorities. For the lower tier establishments safety reporting is not required and written documentation might be less available. The Council Directive requires at least a Major-accident prevention policy document and a Notification describing the inventory of hazardous chemicals. The Council Directive also requires these establishments to show to the authorities that they have a Safety Management System, which should address the following issues: organisation and personnel, identification and evaluation of major hazards, operational control, management of change, planning for emergencies, monitoring performance, and audit and review. The NIVRIM lower tier inspection tool discussed in this paper is specifically developed to assist the inspection team of the authorities to identify whether establishments comply with the above-mentioned Seveso II-requirements. NIVRIM is initiated by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment. NIVRIM has an approach consisting of six steps: (1) preparation of the inspection, (2) inspection of Major-accident prevention policy document, (3) dialogue with establishment's managing director, (4) inspection of safety management system, (5) assessment of findings, and (6) notification to establishment.

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