Sistema Informativo Attività a Rischio di incidente rilevante
Regione Piemonte
Italy

The Problem

The project of Regione Piemonte that is being nominated has been developed within reorganization and informatization of the Public Administration in Italy.
The specific context of the project is the management and inspection of seveso establishments. In these plants high quantitative of hazardous substances and chemicals area stored and handled so they are regulated by the Seveso II Directive 96/82/EC as amended by Directive 105/2003/EC and they can involve territorial critical situations. Seveso establishment regulation and management are multidisciplinary subjects that involve public administrations of different responsabilities (environment, emergency and land use planning, civil protection, etc), at international, national and local level.
Referring to this context, the Italian regulation about seveso establishments (D. Lgs. 334/99 as amended by the D. Lgs. 238/05) results complex and articulated in accordance with responsibilities of public administrations involved (Environment and Land and Sea Protection Ministry; Ministry of the Interior - Prefectures, Fire Brigade; Environmental Protection Agency, Region, Local public Administrations).
So, the system to manage this subject has to be flexible, sharing, able to assure the cooperation between institutions involved. In particular, the system must allow to manage an high number of documents and data supplied by plant managers. So these information can be available for all the institutions involved and can be used in inspecting activities, emergency situation planning and land use planning.
The geographic information system about seveso establishments projected and realised by Piedmont Region (SIAR) allows to answer to all these requirements: to deal with geographic and alphanumerical data; to file administrative documentation as attached and downloadable files; beside, it assures identification of data history, it supplies flexible searching system through multiple filters pertaining different thematic areas; it traces accesses by digital certicates and assures data safety.

The informative system planning involved cooperation and interaction between all institutions involved with the aim of defining system requirements and using possibilities in accordance with user institution responsibility. Referring to the SIAR data, a specific system “Damage area and Territory” has been implemented aimed to support Local Administration in land use planning near seveso establishments. A following development of the system will allow to plants manager to supply documents and studies by this service.

It is important to point out that a lot of data were yet available and registered in a previous system, thanks to sensibility ever demonstrated by Regione Piemonte about this matter. Alphanumerical and geographical data editing and loading in SIAR system is regulated by a specific Regional regulation.

SIAR development and availability don’t only supply an important instrument in seveso plant management in Piedmont area but it is also an example of reorganization and informatization within Public Administration. Besides, it is an example of collaboration between different Public institutions that can be followed in planning similar systems either in project management aspects and in technical solutions adopted.

Solution and Key Benefits

 What is the initiative about? (the solution)
The project developed by Piedmont Region achieved a geographical information system creation aimed to management of seveso plants and problems related to these establishments in land use planning.
It represents one of the first GIS in this subject realized in Italy and it is part of “SIRA Piemonte” (Environmental Information System of Piedmont Region): SIRA is a cooperation network between producers and/or holder of environmental information, that use technological and informatics instruments to improve quality, efficiency and economic aspects for the acquisition, elaboration and sharing data.
The most important SIAR applications concerning: management of register data about seveso establishments or in general establishments that deal dangerous substances in lower quantities; management of data about substances handled or stored in plant; accidental hypothesis and scenarios. Beside, SIAR allows to register establishment situation in fire fighting; accident happened in the past in the Piedmont area and substances involved; data about Emergency Plan and Land Use Plan near establishment sites.
Geographic part of the system permits to represent the potential damage area due to the establishment presence and the most critical vulnerable elements; in particular, vulnerable elements are identified and categorized in consideration of their level of vulnerability.
The SIAR implementation allowed an easy sharing and consulting data for all institutions interested in and located over the district; so it made more effective and efficient inspection and management operated by Public Administrations.
Particularly, SIAR allows a better data circulation between Piedmont Region, Piedmont Environmental Protection Agency and Regional Fire Brigade that are the institutions pointed out by the laws for the inspection and registration of establishments. It makes easier but also requires cooperation between the same institutions and it reduces time necessary to absolve institutional functions, to advantage of management clearance and transparency and allowing a more efficient service to public and concerns.
Referring to Local Administration, Province and Town, SIAR system (particularly “Damage area and Territory” service) allows a better management, planning and monitoring action, permitting an easier identification of critical situations due to closeness between establishments and vulnerable elements.
SIAR availability assures cooperation between neighbour towns, for which critical situations can be due to the same plants, and supports emergency planning, optimizing time required for the External Emergency Plan redaction.
Besides, SIAR system is an important support in land use planning, simplifying work of Local Administration, for which this is often a difficult mission because of lack ness of specific skill in this subject.
These characteristics of the system involve an improving of citizens safety and environmental protection.

Actors and Stakeholders

 Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
1993: Planning of a system for registering and management data concerning seveso establishments (LR 32/92);
1998-2003: upgrading and improvement of the system implemented
2003: Starting Damage Area and Territory Service
2004: Starting planning of present SIAR system
2006: SIAR System Starting work, national presentation and convention between Piedmont Region, Regional Environmental Protection Agency and Fire Brigade.

(a) Strategies

 Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
 a.      What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
The Regional Informative System about seveso plants is aimed to manage alphanumerical and geographic information about establishments which store or handle dangerous substances in quantities exceeding threshold values, as defined by the law (substances toxic for humans and environment, inflammable, explosive and oxidant).
Seveso Directive, that is motivated by prevention of chemical accidents like the one happened in ICMESA establishment, located in Seveso (Italy, 1976), is aimed to prevention and reducing risk and environmental protection. This Directive provides plant manager doing a complete risk analysis about their activity and public administration arranging environmental protection plans, like Emergency Plan and Land Use Plan. Public Administration has to inspect technical and managing aspects too.
Referring to this context, the Italian regulation about seveso establishments (D. Lgs. 334/99 as amended by the D. Lgs. 238/05) results complex and articulated on the resposibilities of public administrations involved (Environment and Land and Sea Protection Ministry; Ministry of the Interior - Prefectures, Fire Brigade; National and Regional Environmental Protection Agencies, Region, Local Administrations).
It seems important to point out as information about seveso plant must be used in emergency planning and in land use planning: so information availability, clarity and continuous upgrading are fundamental.

(b) Implementation

 b.      What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
In this context, need of geographical information system implementation, that allows to manage the complex subject, has been pointed out by all institutions involved and faced by Piedmont Region.
SIAR is aimed to:
- improving knowledge about establishments, prevention and protection instruments and their availability for environment and human health protection and a better district management;
- simplifying strategic actions and communication between institutions, allowing an integration of alphanumerical and geographical data pertaining to different subjects (environmental, humanized and productive);
- making rationale and easier resposabilities and prohibition system by inspecting organization and integration of administrative processes;
- creating conditions to promote services for citizens and enterprises.

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

 c.      What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
SIAR system can:
- organise alphanumerical and geographical data, creating a relationship between a Oracle database and web GIS system;
- documents as attached and downloadable files;
- assure historical framework data;
- supply flexible search systems, through multiple filters pertaining different thematic area;
- assure tracing accesses by digital certification and user identification and authentication;
- assure data safety;
- allow to share geographical data as inspire Directive asked.
System characteristics and contents:
System access is done by authentication of a personal digital certificate;
The most important SIAR functionalities are:
- to register information management about seveso establishments;
- to organize information about chemicals stored and used and accidental scenarios.
- to register data about fire prevention, accidents happened in the district and dangerous substances involved;
- to make available and share External Emergency Plan and Land Use Plan;
- to draw and manage geographic data associated to the establishment impact and human and environmental vulnerabilities present near plants.
The most important parts of the system are:
The Establishment section reports register, administrative and technical data about plant. Establishments registered are seveso plants but also other plants that have to be inspected because of risk associated.
The Historical Accidental Register section allows to investigate accidents occurred in the plants and on roads and railway including phenomena and impacts on people and environment(in implementation phase).
The Law Performance section reports performance of establishment about Italian legislation which adopts Seveso Directive in Italy. Particularly, system allows to file law documents and technical reports supplied by different subjects. Inspection activities are reported too and following inspections are planned.
The Substance Section reports list of chemicals and substances stored and handled (risk sources).
Next year, External Emergency Plan section will be implemented with more geographical data to follow emergency in real time.
External Emergency Plan, Land Use Plan and Fire Prevention sections report administrative data on these isues.
The Accidental Hypothesis section reports hypothesis description of possibile accidents, individualized by plant manager, including scenario description, probability, damage area, substance involved and geographical data associated.
The following objects are drawn on technical maps:
- establishments;
- accidental scenarios: damage area and their centre are reported;
- vulnerabilities: vulnerable (environmental and human) elements near establishments are individualized.
Summarizing, SIAR allows geographical and alphanumerical data sharing between different public administrations, assuring administrative simplification and transparency. It also permits an integration of data referring to different environmental matrix and so improving management efficiency, inspection organization, emergency planning and resources distribution.
Besides, Damage Area and Territory System can be used by Local Public Administrations assuring clear and univocal information for land use managers. Referring to European and National Directive, which attribute great importance to information and service availability for citizens, SIAR is planning to be upgraded for plant manager consultation and interaction, simplifying data transmission process.

(d) Use of Resources

 d.      What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
SIAR implementation allows an easier data sharing and consultation referring to different public institutions, located in different part of the district, improving efficiency and efficacy of Public Administration management and inspection.
Particularly, referring to institutions identified by seveso Italian regulations as most important actors in inspection and management of establishments (Region, Regional Environmental Protection Agency, Fire Brigade, National Environmental Protection Agency), SIAR allows a better information circulation; it makes easier and in meantime needs cooperation, it reduce
time required to develop different activities, to give an advantage and a better service for citizens and productive business.
Referring to Local Public Administration, SIAR System and in particular “Damage Area and Territory” Service, is an important instrument in territorial management, planning and inspection, allowing an easier identification of critical situation, due to nearness between establishments and vulnerable elements. In fact, SIAR availability permits better cooperation between neighbour Towns, that often dealing the same critical situations, supplies a support in Emergency, shortening time required by Emergency Plan redaction.
SIAR especially supports in Land Use Planning of the area near Establishments, a difficult work for Local Public Administration because of lack of specific technical skill in local public offices. All these aspects assure an improving of people safety and environmental protection.

Sustainability and Transferability

  Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
To assure system usefulness in future, SIAR needs continuous input of data and upgrading of structure system in observance of regulation transformations (upgrading of dangerous substances, threshold values, etc.).
A convention has been signed by Piedmont Region, Piedmont Environmental Protection Agency and Fire Brigade, aimed to improving system; this convention defines also responsibilities and tasks related to loading data, making SIAR use part of usual procedure applied by the institutions. Besides, Piedmont Region provides to monitor system conformity to Public Administration requirements, identifying possible developments and adjustments.

The project, developed by Piedmont Region and explained above, achieved realization of one the first informative system available in Italy at regional level concerning seveso plant management. Need of such system had be shared by other districts, Environmental Protection Agencies and Fire Brigade present in Italy and also by Italian Ministry of Environment and APAT, so SIAR system is altogether compatible with other national realties and it doesn’t need any substantial modification to this purpose.
A national diffusion process is starting and a first SIAR presentation day has been organized last October, particularly aimed to illustrate system to the other Italian districts.
At the 9th January 2007, a second meeting is planned between Piedmont Region, Ministry of Environment and APAT-National Environmental Protection Agency to start a sperimental project aimed to link SIAR with the National Informative System on Seveso Establishments created by the Ministry of Environment and APAT. At the same time, in 2007 a project will be developed to link SIAR with other specific informative system developed in Piedmont Region.

Lessons Learned

 What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
The most critical difficulty that was overcome in SIAR development has been the definition of system structure, in particular referring to establishment administrative aspects and law performance.
The interaction between the different institutions that contribute to SIAR creation represented a criticism too. In this case, the real problem is only the time that must be spent in meetings because the cooperation gets itself the solution.

Contact Information

Institution Name:   Regione Piemonte
Institution Type:   Government Department  
Contact Person:   Milena ORSO GIACONE
Title:   Seveso Expert  
Telephone/ Fax:   00390114324376
Institution's / Project's Website:   00390114324483
E-mail:   rischi.industriali@regione.piemonte.it  
Address:   Via Principe Amedeo 17
Postal Code:   10123
City:   Turin
State/Province:   TO
Country:   Italy

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