9th reporting round

Countries have identified good practices in implementing the Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents within their national implementation reports. The good practices reported from the 9th reporting round (2016–2018) are compiled in the tables below. The Working Group on Implementation and secretariat categorized the good practices into the six themes. Click on each box to expand (or collapse) it into a table. The tables include information and related links when available. Should you have further questions on the good practices provided, please contact the Focal Point of the Party or country. A list of all Focal Points can be found here.

Identification and notification of hazardous activities

Country	Description of Good Practice	Links by language
Austria	Maintained International River Commissions Organized meetings with neighbouring countries Organized international emergency exercises (i.e. Comprotex and Taranis)	Not provided
Belarus	Completed notification and consultation processes with Lithuania and Latvia on hazardous installations capable of causing transboundary effects, including pipelines
Germany	Regularly exchanged information and experiences on the prevention of accidents and disaster control through the Franco-German-Swiss Conference of the Upper Rhine Conducted identification and notification of tailings management facilities (TMFs) in the Danube River Basin and beyond, using the TMF Methodology	The Franco-German-Swiss Conference of the Upper Rhine (ENG) (FRE) (German)
Netherlands	Maintains a notification list pertaining to hazardous activities on the BRZOplus website	BRZOplus (Dutch)

Prevention

Country/Party	Description of Good Practice	Links by language
Belgium	Introduced a link to the Emploi website concerning the implementation of the Seveso Directive, including with explanations of regulations and publications	Emploi (FRE) (Dutch)
Czechia	Listed 11 methodologies on: (1) object classification; (2) accident prevention for gas storage; (3) risk analysis and assessment; (4) major accident identification analysis; (5) appendices to national legislation; (6) safety management systems; (7) interpretation of safety management; (8) emergency and spatial planning; (9) safety engineering; (10) prevention support; (11) education Provided information sources	Information sources: Specialized workplace for prevention of major accidents (Czech) Bulletin of the Ministry of the Environment: (Czech) (ENG)
European Union	The Seveso-Export-Group (SEG) met annually and provided a forum for discussions, with high-level input from a wide range of sources and stakeholders	SEG (ENG) (FRE)
Germany	The Commission on Process Safety (KAS) supported the federal government on process safety issues, including through guidelines and reports	KAS Reports (ENG) (German)
Hungary	Developed and published guidelines for prevention and preparedness, including on safety management systems, accident investigation, SPIs in practice, Natech and winterization	Guidelines (all in Hungarian): (1) (2)
Italy	The National Coordination Board published guidelines on: (1) reviewing and testing external emergency plans; (2) equipment and installation ageing; (3) assessing safety reports of underground natural gas storage	Guidelines (Italian)
North Macedonia	Established a working group for the implementation of a national platform implementing the Sendai Framework
Norway	Presented a link to guidelines for quantitative risk analysis of facilities handling hazardous substances Established a national network for natural disasters in 2016 — which has the status of the Norwegian national platform for the implementation of the Sendai Framework — to strengthen cooperation between the different authorities, including on risks of natural hazard-triggered technological accidents (Natech)	Guidelines (ENG)
Poland	Issued a “Methodology in dealing with matters related to the prevention of major industrial accidents” and the “2016 Emergency Response-Guidebook”	Guidebook (Polish PDF) (Polish PC) (Polish mobile)
Portugal	Presented 10 guidelines and forms on the Portuguese Environmental Agency website: (1) the scope of Seveso III Directive; (2) Seveso notification; (3) siting and modifying establishments; (4) major accident prevention and safety management; (5) safety report preparation; (6) public information; (7) determining hazardous areas; (8) strategic environmental assessment of municipal land use plans; (9) Internal Emergency Plan; (10) Simplified Internal Emergency Plan Integrated technological accident prevention into national disaster risk reduction policies through the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (PNRRC)	Portuguese Environmental Agency (Portuguese) Internal Emergency Plan (Portuguese) Information needed for developing the External Emergency Plan (Portuguese)
Romania	Elaborated on a methodology for risk assessment and integration of a sectoral risk assessment Provided a link to the UNECE Safety Guidelines and Good Industry Practices for Oil Terminals	Methodology for risk assessment and integration of a sectoral risk assessment (Romanian) Safety Guidelines and Good Practices (ENG, RUS)
Russian Federation	Mentioned the article: Bazaliy R.V., Nevskaya E.E., Churkin G.Yu., ‘Problems of Substantiation of Buildings and Structures Blast Resistance at Hazardous Production Facilities’ (2018) 4 Occupational safety in industry	Article (RUS)
Slovakia	Held several training activities for state administrators, qualified persons and operators of enterprises, in accordance with legislation Provided a link to 23 methodological manuals, guides and procedures	Manuals, guides and procedures (Slovak)
Switzerland	Stated a number of handbooks and guidance materials that had been developed or were under development	Major Accidents Publications (ENG) (FRE) (German) (Italian) Guide for the risk assessment of high-pressure natural gas pipelines (German) Guide on the coordination between prevention of major accidents and land use planning (FRE) (German) (Italian)
United Kingdom	Provided links to three guidance documents	Major Hazard Leadership Delivery Guide (ENG) Flood Preparedness Delivery Guide (ENG) Guidance on Cyber Security for Industrial Automation and Control Systems (ENG)

Emergency preparedness, response and mutual assistance

Country/Party	Description of Good Practice	Links by language
Croatia	Provided a link to a database with documents on good practices for off-site contingency planning	Database (Croatian)
Czechia	Provided a link to good practices and methodological instructions for off-site contingency planning	Methodological instructions (Czech)
European Union	Operates the Emergency Response and Coordination Centre (ERCC) to manage any kind of disasters, including industrial accidents	ERCC (ENG) (FRE)
Finland	The Ministry of the Interior provided two guidance documents on internal emergency planning for operators and external emergency planning	Not provided
Germany	The Commission on Process Safety (KAS) elaborated on guidelines, including for contingency planning At the Länder level, produced guidance documents on contingency planning (e.g. North Rhine-Westphalia guidance on implementing the Seveso III Directive for emergency planning)	KAS Guidelines (German) Sample concept for contingency planning (German)
Greece	Provided guidelines for contingency planning	Not provided
Hungary	Provided information on the integrated monitoring and public alert and information system called “MoLaRi” Provided information on guidelines for contingency planning	MoLaRi (Hungarian) Guidance documents for contingency planning (all in Hungarian): (1) (2) (3) (4)
Lithuania	Provided links to good practices for on-site contingency planning Reported on training exercises	Guidance documents for contingency planning (all in Lithuanian): (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
Luxembourg	Provided guidance documents on contingency planning based on Seveso III Directive Provided the mobile app GouvAlert for alerting the population by smartphones	GouvAlert (ENG) (FRE) (German)
Netherlands	Provided guidance documents on contingency planning; all contingency plans (except certain parts) are publicly available on the internet	Document database (Dutch)
Norway	Provided a link to the national emergency preparedness plan for chemical substances, biological agents, radioactive substances, nuclear material and explosives (CBRNE) Provided an evaluation report on the Skagerrak Chemical Oil Spill Pollution Exercise 2017 (SCOPE 2017)	National strategy for CBRNE (Norwegian) Evaluation report on the SCOPE 2017 (ENG)
Republic of Moldova	Provided links to good practices for off-site contingency planning and joint response plans with Romania Held trilateral table-top and field exercises between Moldova, Romania and Ukraine at the International Sea Port Guirgiulesti and developed a joint/transboundary contingency plan in the Danube Delta	Hazard prevention and Crisis Management in the Danube River Delta (ENG) Accident Emergency Warning System (ENG) Joint response plans (Romanian)
Romania	Provided links to good practices for off-site contingency planning	External emergency plan (Romanian)
Slovakia	Provided links to a methodology on contingency planning	Methodology (Slovak)
Spain	Provided guidance for planning and controlling major accidents with dangerous substances	Guidance (Spanish)
Sweden	Provided a link to good practices for off-site contingency planning	External Emergency Planning (Swedish)
United Kingdom	Provided links to good practices for on-site contingency planning and on the responsibilities of responder agencies to prepare and plan for emergencies	Internal Emergency Planning Delivery Guide (ENG) Preparation and planning for emergencies: responsibilities of responder agencies and others (ENG)

Scientific and technological cooperation and exchange of information

Country/Party	Description of Good Practice	Links by language
Cezchia	Reported on a Czech-German-Poland working group for the Convention, which meets every two years, and regular meetings and conferences with regional and inspection authorities	Not provided
France	Mentioned the OECD Working Group on Chemical Accidents and regular working meetings with regional authorities of neighbouring countries	Not provided
European Union	Regularly conducted seminars on lessons learnt from industrial accidents IMPEL (European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law) provided workshops, online streaming of workshops and website links	Seminar series (ENG) IMPEL (ENG)
Germany	Referred to good practices and provided links pertaining to information exchange, assistance activities, capacity development activities to improve tailings safety Parts of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety’s Beratungshilfeprogramm (Advisory Assistance Programme) supported the implementation of the UNECE “Water” and “Industrial Accidents” Conventions in EECCA and SEE countries The commissions for the Danube and the Oder basins developed inventories concerning potential accident hazard hotspots in the basin	Assistance in improving safety of Tailings Management Facilities in Armenia and Georgia (ENG) Advisory Assistance Programme for countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia and other countries neighbouring the European Union (ENG) (RUS) (German) Checklist methodology to increase safety of Tailings Management Facilities in the UNECE region (ENG) Capacity development to improve safety conditions of Tailings Management Facilities in the Danube River Basin (ENG) International Commission for the Protection of the Odra River against Pollution (ENG) (Czech) (German) (Polish)
Italy	Set up a European Union Twinning Project with Austria called “Chemicals and hazardous substances monitoring improvement and integration of Seveso database into Croatian Environmental Information System as the unique Central Seveso Information System”	Not provided
Kazakhstan	The Interstate Council for Industrial Safety (ICIS) was established in 2001 according to the Agreement between Governments of CIS Member States on Cooperation in the Sphere of Industrial Safety at Hazardous Production Sites; meetings are held as needed but at least annually, on a rotating basis in the ICIS members states (i.e. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation, as well as Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan)	ICIS (RUS)
Latvia	Provided examples of cooperation, including the Lithuania Cross Border Cooperation Programme	LATLIT (ENG)
Lithuania	Reported on a cooperation between the FRD and Lithuanian Army, including joint exercises and training Mentioned that every emergency response plan of municipalities, other institutions or economic entities includes elements of cooperation between emergency services	Not provided
Luxembourg	Participated in conferences and meetings at the European level aimed at scientific and technological cooperation and exchange of information Carried out exchanges of information in the context of the preparation of external contingency plans	Not provided
Republic of Moldova	Reported the development of a pilot project under the Convention’s Assistance and Cooperation Programme for multilateral activities on hazard and crisis management in the Danube Delta area, including exchanging information, experiences and technologies with neighbouring countries and other Parties	UNECE Danube Delta Project (ENG)
Montenegro	Carried out activities under the project “Strengthening the initial response capacity to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats and risks (HBRN) and EU-funded regional cooperation between the countries of Southeast Europe, the South Caucasus, Moldova and Ukraine” The National Team for Chemical, Biological, Nuclear and Radiation Accidents attended the second Regional Field Exercise in Albania The Emergency Directorate organized a regional TTX simulation exercise to test standard operational procedures for chemical accidents and practice regional level coordination	Not provided
Norway	Shared information about exercises, including the Barents rescue cooperative activities and with Russian Response organizations Cooperated on knowledge and experience sharing on acute pollution through the Arctic Council/EPPR	Not provided
Netherlands	Referred to the Programme Sustainable Safety 2030, in which competent authorities, industry and science institutions cooperate to improve safety in the chemical industry	Safety Delta Nederland (Dutch)
Poland	Referred to cooperation with Czechia and Germany through the International Commission on the Protection of the Oder against Pollution (ICPO) and to initiatives with Lithuania	ICPO (ENG) (Czech) (German) (Polish)
Romania	Exchanged best practices on inspection and control through: the Project with the Bulgarian Region Veliko Trnovo; “Toward an integrated, joint cross-border detection system and harmonized rapid responses procedures to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear emergencies”; and UNECE’s Danube Delta Through the Euroregional Association DKMT, performed information exchanges and established preparedness programmes Through the Interreg-IPA Cross-border Cooperation Romania-Serbia Programme, increased Romanian and Serbian authorities reaction capabilities against disasters	UNECE Danube Delta Project (ENG) Interreg-IPA (ENG) (Bulgarian) (Romanian)
Serbia	Mentioned bilateral agreements in the field of protection against natural and other disasters, and cooperation and mutual assistance in case of disasters with 10 countries, which imply the exchange of information, experience and knowledge in the field of emergency management	Not provided
Slovakia	Reported that relevant components of the Republic regularly participated in crisis management exercises under the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism, including with Czechia, Poland and Hungary	European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (ENG) (FRE)
Slovenia	Mentioned cooperation agreements with Austria, Hungary, Croatia and Italy, which include a monthly check of notification data, information exchange and transboundary rescue and relief exercises Reported on agreements signed with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, which encourage cooperation in protection against disasters, knowledge exchange and transfer of expertise and experience	Not provided
Spain	Shared information through the National Database for Chemical Risk (Barquim)	Barquim publication (Spanish)
Sweden	Reported an annual (Seveso) conference for operators and authorities, which included opportunities for information exchange about preparedness and response and sometimes representatives from neighbouring countries Held regularly meetings with Norway and Finland to discuss differences in regulations and to exchange information	Not provided

Information to and participation of the public

Country/Party	Description of Good Practice	Links by language
Austria	Ensured the public was informed in the framework of the Convention
Croatia	Ensured public participation in preparing external emergency plans
European Union	Collected and provided information through the Minerva Portal of the Major Accident Hazards Bureau	Minerva (ENG)
Netherlands	Provided the public with information about Seveso-establishments	Risicokaart (Dutch)

Decision making on siting and land-use planning

Country/Party	Description of Good Practice	Links by language
Austria	Drew up guidelines for siting	Not provided
Norway	Provided a detailed description of guidance for quantitative risk analysis of facilities handling hazardous substances	Guidelines (ENG) (Norwegian)
Sweden	Provided a link to its agreement with Finland to promote cooperation on water and fisheries, including to prevent flooding and environmental damage Provided a link to guidance on siting of new developments in the vicinity of existing establishments	Bilateral River Agreement with Finland (ENG) (Swedish) (Finnish) (Sami) Guidance on new developments (Swedish)
Switzerland	Reported the drafting of a new planning guide on the coordination between the prevention of major accidents and land use planning Reported on guidance on the risks of major accidents on railway lines in implementing land-use planning legislation	Guide on the coordination between prevention of major accidents and land use planning (FRE) (German) (Italian)