Today marks the opening of a three-day training session (22–24 October 2012) in Split, Croatia, on on-site inspections of hazardous installations, which will include a simulated on-site inspection of an oil storage facility thanks to the cooperation of the Croatian authorities. Organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the training session targets inspectors from Croatia, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and aims at supporting them in effectively designing and running inspections of hazardous industrial sites.
Inspections play a crucial role for the prevention of industrial accidents. Organizing routine inspections will help operators of industrial installations to detect (and remedy) actual or potential deficiencies and will help the authorities to check the operator’s compliance with the legislation. During the session, inspectors — assisted by international experts from Denmark, the United Kingdom and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission — will plan, design and run a simulated inspection on the basis of documents provided by the operator of the oil storage facility. They will have the chance to visit the installation, to put technical questions to the operator and to inspect the facility. After the inspection, the participants will be given the possibility to go through the procedures for evaluating inspections and preparing the relevant reports.
The training session is the third phase of project on the evaluation of safety reports and on-site inspection for Croatia, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia carried out within the Assistance Programme of the UNECE Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents. The preceding phases were implemented in 2010 and 2011 and have already produced a number of positive results, including the development of a checklist system for safety reports and, in Serbia and Croatia, to the adoption of the relevant legislation.
Notes to editors
The 1992 Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents is designed to protect people and the environment against industrial accidents. The Convention aims at preventing accidents from occurring, reducing their frequency and severity and mitigating their effects if they do occur. In 2004, the Convention’s Conference of the Parties adopted an Assistance Programme to support the countries from Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia and South-Eastern Europe in implementing the Convention.
More information on the 2012 on-site inspection for Croatia, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia can be found at http://www.unece.org/index.php?id=30842. For further information, please contact Virginia Fuse ([email protected]).