A new European directive is now ruling in Italy for operators that work in industries, specifically for factories exposed to major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances.

The “Seveso III” Directive – on the control of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances, amending and subsequently repealing Council Directive 96/82/EC, n. 2012/18 UE of July 2012 – has been introduced in the Italian legislation last June 2015 (Decree n. 105 of 26.06.2015) and has entered into force at the end of July 2015.

Why “Seveso III” Directive?

On 10th July 1976 a big chemical accident took place at the Icmesa in Meda (Milano), caused by a technical failure of the control panel led to the chemical reactor of the factory.

This damage didn’t cause an explosion, however the high temperatures of the substances originated the formation of a toxic cloud that – helped by the wind – touched the villages in the proximity of the factory, especially Seveso.

Nowadays medical studies are still conducted about the consequences of this tragedy that involved a lot of people through a disease called “chloracne”.

Click here for more technical information supplied by Contec Industry.