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n daily practice, accidents in industrial plants can lead to extensive trans-national effects in lakes and rivers - in particular leading to a restriction in their use as drinking or industrial water as well as causing damages to the ecosystem. A remarkable example is the fire disaster of Santos in the Swiss hall (Switzerland) in 1986 which caused a serious pollution of the Rhine. Fishing in and using the Rhine as a source of drinking water had to be interrupted for several days up to a distance of about 1000 km stretching into the Netherlands. This and other events made it necessary to give the development of an international safety standard a clear direction.
The river basin committees for the Elbe, Rhine and Danube can issue recommendations on different aspects of plant safety based on the results of the water and industrial accidents conventions. The black sea commission and other international committees can of course also make recommendations based on the results of the above-mentioned conventions.
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The recommendations given by international groups can therefore serve as a manual of recommendations for improving and updating the international safety standards in the area of plant related water pollution control.
The fact that safety measures are not specific to a particular river basin area alone; these recommendations for the Rhine, Elbe and Danube can be used for other areas too.
The following recommendations describe the technical and organizational precautions to be taken when operating industrial plants handling substances hazardous to water. They are based on a concept with which chemical danger potentials are controlled by means of a multi staged technical and organizational safety system.
The recommendations can be divided into three major groups:
- Recommendations for Functional units (e. g. storage, sealing systems, fire prevention etc.)
- Recommendations for Branches (e. g. cellulose industry)
- Recommendations for Risk areas (e. g. contaminated surfaces)
The recommendations can be used in any company handling substances hazardous to water and can be considered as the basis for safety policies in the area of plant related water pollution control.
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