WARNING SIGNS ON CANAL EXPLAINED

Several residents have made enquiries for information relating to the new signs that have been recently erected along the Leeds-Liverpool canal and Cllr Ken Moss contacted William Blythe Ltd in Church to find out more details. A statement was received via email explaining the signs in full:

"The signs form part of our communication obligations under the Control of Major Accident Hazard Regulations 1999 (or COMAH for short). Our activities come under this legislation, which mainly applies to the chemical industry, because threshold quantities of certain dangerous substances identified in the Regulations are kept or used on our site. Under the COMAH Regulations we have a duty to contact everyone within a designated area around the site known as the ‘Public Information Zone’ (or PIZ), to explain what could happen in the unlikely event of a major accident at our Church site. 

As part of this we periodically send out a community letter and a PIZ leaflet “Safety Advice for the Community” to all businesses and households within the PIZ (a copy is available on our website if you want to take a look – www.williamblythe.com).

At one of the regular Multi-Agency Emergency Planning Meetings, which we attend together with representatives from Lancashire County Council, Hyndburn Borough Council, the Health and safety Executive, the Environment Agency and the Emergency Services (i.e. police, fire and ambulance) it was pointed out that users of the canal and tow path may not have received this information as they do not reside in the PIZ. The signs were therefore erected on the advice of the Emergency Planning Unit of Lancashire County Council to provide information and advice to users of the canal and the tow path as to what to do in case of a major accident on our site."