RR343 - Impact evaluation of the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations 1999

The Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulation 1999 (COMAH) implement the Seveso II Directive (96/82/EC) in Great Britain. They replaced the Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1984 (CIMAH). This project, commissioned by the Competent Authority (CA), aimed to carry out an impact evaluation of the COMAH Regulations. The specific objectives of the study were to:

• estimate the costs and benefits of the COMAH Regulations including as far as possible;
• compare these with the estimates made in the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA); and
• identify additional work that may be required to establish further the impact of the COMAH.

The study was not aimed at exploring reasons for good or poor performance or providing recommendations on how the Regulations could be improved.

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This report and the work it describes were funded by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Its contents, including any opinions and/or conclusions expressed, are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect HSE policy.

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