Question: Does the internal emergency plan have to be updated each time the operator changes subcontractor?
How to interpret “long-term relevant subcontracted personnel”?
Answer: The Directive provides that the internal emergency plan shall be reviewed and, where necessary, updated at suitable intervals of no longer than three years. This review shall take into account changes occurring in the establishment concerned or within the emergency services concerned, new technical knowledge, and knowledge concerning the response to major accidents.
The obligation to consult the personnel working inside the establishment and the long-term relevant subcontracted personnel would apply not only to the first drawing up of the internal emergency plan, but also to all subsequent reviews and/or updates, since their input may be valuable also for the update or review. The long-term relevant subcontracted personnel should be the subcontracted personnel from which one can expect such valuable input for the internal emergency plan. Short-term sub-contractors whose activities have no impact whatsoever on the safety of the establishment should not be included in the consultation exercise. It would be for the operator to judge on a case-by-case basis the need for consulting the subcontracted personnel, taking into account their potential impact on safety aspects and possible input to the internal emergency plan.
Furthermore, if a change in sub-contractor would have an impact on the content and therefore proper functioning of the internal emergency plan (for instance in terms of responsible persons for setting the emergency procedures in motion or for coordinating the on-site mitigating action or for liaising with the authority responsible for the external emergency plan), or if the change of sub-contractor would have an impact on the conditions or events which could be significant in bringing about a major accident, this should trigger a necessary review of the internal emergency plan, irrespective of the “normal” three-year interval, and the newly sub-contracted personnel would have to be consulted on the review.
