Industry Focuses on Regulatory Amendment to Reduce Major Accident Hazards

In March, regulations were updated to prevent major industrial accidents resulting in injuries, deaths, environmental and material damage, and to mitigate their effects. Industrialists, stating that accident prevention is among their highest priorities, called for a 'Support Package for Process Safety and Process Improvement' to rapidly implement the requirements of the regulation. Kocaeli Chamber of Industry Chairman and TOBB Board Vice Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu and Process Safety Symposium and Exhibition Organizing Board Chairman and Dyo Construction Paints Plant Director Hasan Şerefhan met at Fairmont Quasar Hotel to provide information about the Process Safety Symposium they organized to raise awareness among industrialists regarding the updated regulation.

Kocaeli Chamber of Industry Chairman and TOBB Board Vice Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu noted that the Kocaeli Chamber of Industry has signed onto a very important project that will serve as an example to Turkey in occupational health and safety.

Ayhan Zeytinoğlu, mentioning that industrialists in Kocaeli, where heavy and hazardous sectors operate intensively, are taking the lead in implementing process safety measures, stated that they will implement the Process Safety Symposium, within which the changes in the regulation concerning the prevention of major industrial accidents and mitigation of their effects will be discussed together with all actors in the sector. Process Safety Symposium and Exhibition Organizing Board Chairman and Dyo Construction Paints Plant Director Hasan Şerefhan noted that the changes made to the Regulation on the Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents and Mitigation of Their Effects in March were implemented in line with the SEVESO Directives applied in the EU. Explaining that with this change, although it varies depending on the facility size and the safety measures taken to date, companies face an investment of approximately TRY 1–1.5 million, Hasan Şerefhan emphasized that this investment is necessary both to reduce accident risk and to minimize the effects of accidents on human health and the environment. Stating that industrialists need human resources and funding to comply with this, Şerefhan also underlined that there would be requirements for technical knowledge and equipment. Pointing out that companies not complying with the new changes face severe penalties ranging from warnings to fines and even production shutdowns, Şerefhan added that as industrialists they believe they will successfully pass this test, but that they need support for such large investments.