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MINING FOR CLOSURE
25
and new concepts introduced into the Seveso II
Directive included the introduction of new require-
ments relating to safety management systems,
emergency planning and land-use planning and a
reinforcement of the provisions on inspections to
be carried out by Member States.
46
From 3 February
1999, the obligations of the Directive were manda-
tory for industry as well as the public authorities of
the Member States responsible for the implementa-
tion and enforcement of the Directive.
At that time, the focus of the Seveso II Directive
was solely upon the
presence of dangerous substances
in establishments
. It covered both,
industrial “activi-
ties”
as well as the
storage
of dangerous chemicals.
The levels of control upon establishments covered
by the directive were based upon quantity-related
thresholds. There were important areas excluded
from the scope of the Seveso II Directive. These
included
nuclear safety, the transport of dangerous
substances and intermediate temporary storage outside
establishments
and
the transport of dangerous sub-
stances by pipelines
.
Further, and vital from a mining perspective was that
Seveso II did
not
address important activities and
hazards posed by activities of the extractive indus-
tries concerned with exploration for, and the exploi-
tation of minerals in mines and quarries mining. In
fact, for a number of reasons it specifically excluded
mine wastes. However, the accident at Baia Mare in
Romania in January 2000 changed stakeholder ex-
pectations in that regard. The severe pollution of the
Danube demonstrated clearly that certain storage and
46. The aimof the Seveso II Directive is two-fold. Firstly, the Directive
aims at the
prevention
of major-accident hazards involving dangerous
substances. Secondly, as accidents do continue to occur, the Directive
aims at the
limitation of the consequences
of such accidents not only for
man (
safety and health aspects
) but also for the environment (
environ-
mental aspect
). Both aims should be followed with a view to ensuring
high levels of protection throughout the Community in a consistent
and effective manner.
Transport of cyanide bearing tailings waste adja-
cent to river – Gold mining area, Romania
Photograph by Philip Peck