PROTEUS, a technical and management model for aquatic risk assessment of industrial spills.

The assessment of risks to the aquatic environment related to industrial installations is a priority in environmental pollution control in the Netherlands. Major accidents to the surface water such as the Sandoz incident, but also the high number of smaller accidents that occur every year has invoked the need for an effective method to assess these risks. Two different models have been used in this field in the Netherlands over several years.

Risk analysis and safety policy developments in the Netherlands.

In the Netherlands, external safety policy has been developed and implemented since the early eighties on the basis of a risk-based approach involving quantitative criteria for the tolerability of risk. Good experiences have been gained with the risk policy that applies to some 4000 establishments in the Netherlands where hazardous substances are present. On the basis of these experiences, legislation is now being prepared to give the risk tolerability criteria a full legal basis.