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Year:
2011

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Volume:
15

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Issue:
1

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Article:
3
Safety Science Monitor
Introduction

Chemical hazards can be associated with the most severe industrial accidents. In the European context, the Seveso disaster in Italy (1976) led to new regulation as the Seveso Directive claiming better safety assessments and procedures for planning and implementing hazardous industrial activities. In the Bhopal disaster in India (1984) more than 3,000 people were killed after the release of highly toxic vapors at a Union Carbide pesticide factory. The accident led to a global concern about chemical hazards that prompted the establishment of new regulations and assessing institutions, such as the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) in the United States. In Europe the REACH regulation was introduced in order to place greater responsibility on industry for managing the risks from chemicals used in production and to provide safety information about the substances for the people involved. Manufacturers and importers are required to gather information on the properties of their Issue 1 2011 VVOOLL1155 2 chemical substances which will allow their safe handling, and to register the information in a central database run by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki.

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Author

PREBEN H. LINDOE

SIGNE STENE

System og Sikkerhet, Norway

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