The Seveso Act
Do you run a company that handles or stores large quantities of chemicals? If so, your company is covered by the Seveso Act, which aims to prevent and limit the consequences of serious chemical incidents.
Companies handling or storing large quantities of certain chemicals may be covered by the Seveso Act. The aim of the act is to prevent and limit the consequences of serious chemical incidents. Whether the company is covered by the act or not depends on the amount of the dangerous substance(s) that may be stored.
All companies covered by the Seveso Act must be registered with the county administrative board (Länsstyrelsen). We assess how well-protected against serious chemical incidents the company is based on the requirements set out in the Seveso Act.
Seveso chemical incident
The name Seveso comes from a serious chemical incident that took place in Seveso, northern Italy, in 1976.
In Sweden, there are around 720 companies (including quarries) that are covered by the Seveso Act.
Two levels of requirement for Seveso sites
There are two levels of requirement for Seveso sites, a low level and a high level. The lower level of requirement stipulates that the company must be registered with the county administrative board (Länsstyrelsen) and that there must be an action plan. The higher level of requirement stipulates that permission is required and that a safety report must be conducted.
Both levels of requirement stipulate that information should be provided to the general public and that this should be accessible on the local council website.
Substances covered by the Seveso Act
There is a list of substances covered by the Seveso Act in Appendix 1 of the act (2015:236), regarding measures to prevent and limit the consequences of serious chemical incidents.
Registration according to the Seveso Act
The registration of dangerous substances in your company should be sent to the County Administrative Board. On the website for the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), you can find more information about registration according to the Seveso Act.
Registration according to Seveso on the MSB website
External link.
The e-services and forms of the County Administrative Board in this field are not available in English. If you wish to submit an application or notification, you may contact the County Administrative Board, which can inform you how to proceed.
Monitoring the Seveso Act
The county administrative board works to monitor companies covered by the Seveso Act. Monitoring is based on the requirements set out in the provisions of the Seveso Act. We assess how well-protected against serious chemical incidents the company is based on the requirements set out in the Seveso Act.
Monitoring is often conducted together with the council’s emergency services and environmental administration department for the council in which the company is located.
