Duty to inform if you work with hazardous materials

What is it?

Companies that work with hazardous materials are required to report information to the municipality. What information you must report depends on the type of company. There are low threshold establishments and high threshold establishments. Whether your company is a low threshold or high threshold establishment depends on the amount of hazardous substances present in the company.

The Seveso III Directive states when a company is a low threshold establishment or high threshold establishment. Annex I of this directive contains 2 lists of threshold hazardous substances. Check these lists if hazardous substances are present in your company.

What to do.

Low-threshold and high-threshold establishments must notify:

Contacting the municipality

  • You contact the municipality that issued the environmental permit.
  • In any case, you pass on:
    • the name and address of your company
    • the amount of hazardous materials present in the company
    • the type of hazardous materials present in the company
    • what the hazardous substances are used for
    • the prevention policy
    • the safety management system
    • the internal emergency plan
    • for upper-tier establishments: a safety report

Sometimes the province or the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management has granted the environmental permit. If so, you file the notification with the province or minister.