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This page is about the chemical sites in Dorset that could potentially create an emergency situation and the plans in place to address these risks and reduce their effects.
The regulations
The Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (COMAH) aim to prevent and reduce the effects of any major accidents involving dangerous substances that could cause serious harm to people and/or the environment. In England these regulations are enforced by a Competent Authority (CA), consisting of the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency.
The regulations mainly affect the chemical manufacturing industry. They also apply to other activities where hazardous substances above certain identified thresholds are manufactured, stored or used.
These substances are divided into 2 threshold categories, 'upper tier' and 'lower tier'. Operators of sites that hold larger quantities of dangerous substances ('upper tier' sites) need to meet more requirements than those of 'lower tier' sites.
For 'upper tier' sites an External Emergency Response Plan must be prepared and tested at least every 3 years. In Dorset, this is overseen by us, to cover areas that may be affected outside of the site's boundaries.
COMAH sites in Dorset
Currently there are 2 'upper tier' sites in Dorset:
- PERENCO Wytch Farm in Purbeck
- Portland Bunkers UK (PBUK) within Portland Port
Information for organisations
Organisations that have a role in responding to an incident at these sites can view the:
- Wytch Farm External Plan (password protected)
- PBUK External Plan (password protected)
If you are a responding organisation but do not have the current password to open documents, please contact us.
Information for members of the public
Members of the public and those who live near Wytch Farm can download the Safety Code Card and Safety Advice Leaflet which tell them what to do in an emergency at this site.
As no residential public property is located nearby PBUK, no cards have been produced for this site.
Contacts
Contact details for the activation and ongoing communications for these plans are held in the Dorset Local Resilience Forum Emergency Contacts Directory, which is maintained by the Dorset Civil Contingencies Unit (CCU). You must be registered with government’s Resilience Direct to access this. If you need help with this, contact the Dorset CCU.