OECD Guiding Principles for Chemical Accident Prevention: a guide for public authorities and industry

Institutional watch. This article presents a public document and its relevance for our clients. It does not replace the official text.

The document

The OECD Chemical Accidents Programme has published since the 1990s its Guiding Principles for Chemical Accident Prevention, Preparedness and Response. They are addressed to public authorities, industry, workers and communities alike. A third edition was published in 2023.

What they cover

• Prevention: the role of industry (safety culture, management system, design, operation, management of change) and of public authorities (regulatory framework, inspection, siting).
• Preparedness: internal and external emergency plans, public information, coordination between stakeholders.
• Response: organisation of emergency services, crisis communication, care for victims and the environment.
• Lessons learned: post-accident investigation, sharing of lessons, performance indicators.

The Guiding Principles are complemented by guidance on safety performance indicators, useful for steering a system over time.

Why we use them

Together with the Seveso III Directive and ILO Convention No. 174, they form the documentary basis of our inspector training programmes and our support for national frameworks. Their role-based approach (industry, authorities, communities) fits well with the reality of the countries where we work, where building the system is often a collective effort.

Source: OECD, OECD Guiding Principles for Chemical Accident Prevention, Preparedness and Response, third edition (2023).