UNEP APELL Programme

Tomas MarquesAssociate Programme Officer, Safer Production and APELLSustainable Consumption and Production Branch / Business and Industry Unit

Taller regional sobre las experiencias en la implementación de la metodología APELL en América Latina y la promoción de la nueva Iniciativa de Marco Flexible29 de noviembre de 2010 – Buenos Aires, Argentina

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Contents

1. UNEP APELL Programme

2. APELL Process: goals and objectives

3. The 10 steps of the APELL Process

4. APELL in practice: actions and roles

5. Main benefits of implementing the APELL Process

6. APELL worldwide and sectoral applications

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Industrial accidents and disasters affect everyone

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Pesticide Plant Accident: Bhopal4

Accident at a pesticide plant in Bhopal (India) in 1984, which resulted in the death of at least 3000 people, and in 200,000 to

600,000 people getting injured as a result of this accident

Explosion in LPG terminal in Mexico City

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A major fire and a series of catastrophic explosions occurred in 1984 at a LPG Terminal

Some 650 individuals were killed, more than 6,000 were injured, and the terminal was destroyed

Explosion of fireworks factory in Enschede

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• A fireworks factory in Enschede (Netherlands) exploded in 2000, killing at least 20 people and injuring 562. Over 2000 members of the community, all of whom had been unaware of the existence of the factory, had to be evacuated, and hundreds of homes were destroyed

Explosion in Fertilizer Factory: the Toulouse Accident

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September 2001

31 people died >3,000 people injured

Offsite impacts of industrial accidents

• Industrial accidents affect the public as well as workers

• Industrial accidents can have severe impacts n community health and livelihoods. These can be caused by:

– toxic gas

– water pollution

– physical harm

– fires/explosions

– crushing during mass panic

– hazards during clean-up

UNEP APELL Programme

• APELL stand for Awareness and Preparedness for Emergencies at Local Level

• Launched by UNEP in 1986 in the aftermath of accidents like Bhopal, India

• As a Programme, APELL depends on a higher level framework of:– national emergency strategy and administration;– ‘right to know’ legislation and transparency;– culture and practice of community involvement;– interagency cooperation

The APELL Process10

• As a process, APELL is…:

– “…a multi-stakeholder dialogue tool that establishes adequate coordination and communication in situations where the public might be affected by accidents and disasters.”

• Key aspects of the APELL process are: “local level”, “multi-stakeholder”, “cooperation” and “open communication”

• Main stakeholder groups: local authorities, industry, and community

The APELL Process11

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APELL Process

Integrated Emergency

Preparedness and Plans

CommunityLocal authorities

Industry

APELL Co-ordinating Group

Goals and Objectives of the APELL process

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• The main goal of the APELL Process is the development of integrated emergency response plans through a multi-stakeholder participatory approach involving industry, the communities and local authorities

• The main objectives of the process are to protect lives and the environment, by reducing the occurrence and the potential impacts of industrial accidents/disasters.

This is achieved by:– Promoting better preparedness at the local level– Raising awareness of potentially affected

communities– Working through a structured 10-step process structured 10-step process

(multi-stakeholder dialogue)

IDENTIFY PARTICIPANTS AND DEFINE THEIR ROLESIDENTIFY PARTICIPANTS AND DEFINE THEIR ROLES

EVALUATE AND REDUCE RISKSEVALUATE AND REDUCE RISKS

REVIEW EXISTING PLANS AND IDENTIFY WEAKNESSESREVIEW EXISTING PLANS AND IDENTIFY WEAKNESSES

TASK IDENTIFICATION TASK IDENTIFICATION

MATCH TASKS AND RESOURCESMATCH TASKS AND RESOURCES

INTEGRATE INDIVIDUAL PLANS INTO OVERALL PLAN AND REACH AGREEMENT

INTEGRATE INDIVIDUAL PLANS INTO OVERALL PLAN AND REACH AGREEMENT

DRAFT FINAL PLAN AND OBTAIN ENDORSEMENTDRAFT FINAL PLAN AND OBTAIN ENDORSEMENT

COMMUNICATION AND TRAININGCOMMUNICATION AND TRAINING

COMMUNITY EDUCATIONCOMMUNITY EDUCATION

TESTING, REVIEWING AND UPDATINGTESTING, REVIEWING AND UPDATING

APELL 10-STEP PROCESS

APELL in practice

• Promote the coordination between representatives from local authorities, the industry and the public

• Prepare an integrated emergency response plan and test the plan regularly through emergency drills

• Inform the community about the risks they are exposed to

• Educate the community about the emergency plan and on how to react to industrial accidents

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Industrial area Community exposed to risks

The role of Local Authorities15

Raise public awareness, mobilise public support

Co-ordinate emergency service and public group participation

Train emergency responders

Acquire and provide/mobilise resources

Approve the emergency response plan developed in the APELL process, implement and communicate it to the public

The role of Industry16

Initiate measures for risk reduction, organise “on site“ preparedness

Provide expertise for risk identification, risk assessment and risk reduction measures

Promote risk communication

Establish close working relationships with local authorities, in particular with emergency response agencies and neighbouring industrial facilities

Main benefits of implementing the APELL process

• Enhanced local knowledge of industrial hazards and risks

• Informed community about the risks they are exposed to

• Educated community on how to react to industrial accidents and to instructions from local authorities in the case of an accident

• Increased co-ordination between local authorities, emergency repsondese agencies, industry, and the public

• Integrated emergency response plans

APELL Worldwide

• Capacity Building in more than 30 Countries– India, Russia, Baltics, Czech Republic,

Thailand, China, France, Qatar, Tunisia, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Equator, Venezuela, Chile, Morocco, etc.

• Industrial Parks/Zones: Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, Egypt, France, Morocco, Sri Lanka

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APELL in different sectors

• APELL for Chemical/ Industrial Accidents

• TransAPELL• APELL for Port Areas• APELL for Mining• APELL for Coastal

Tourism Destinations• APELL for multi-

hazards

Thank you for your attention!

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Tomas MarquesAssociate Programme Officer , Safer Production and APELLDivision of Technology, Industry and Economics United Nations Environment Programme 15 Rue de Milan 75441 Paris Cedex 09, France Tel.: +33 1 44 37 14 60 Fax: +33 1 44 37 14 74 E-mail: tomas.marques@unep.org Website: http://www.unep.fr/scp/sp/

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