In brief
Many workplaces in Kocaeli operating in the same area as chemical, petrochemical and storage sites can be affected by a fire, explosion or toxic release at a neighbouring site, even if their own activity is low risk. The Regulation on Emergencies in Workplaces requires emergency procedures to take account of effects that may come from nearby workplaces. Public information from sites within the scope of the BEKRA Regulation is the starting point for turning this external hazard into a scenario.
How does a major industrial accident reach a neighbouring site?
Kocaeli borders Bursa and is one of Türkiye's most heavily industrialised provinces; alongside automotive, chemicals is one of the leading sectors in the province's industry. Along the axis on the northern shore of the Gulf of İzmit stretching to the Gebze, Dilovası and Körfez districts, there are chemical production, storage and port facilities, and industrial zones including Gebze Kimya İhtisas OSB (GEBKİM), set up specifically for the chemical industry. A logistics warehouse, metal workshop or office building in this area shares the risk of its fence-line neighbour with a major industrial accident risk, even if it uses no hazardous substances in its own work.
A major industrial accident at a neighbouring site reaches the boundary in three ways:
- Fire: Thermal radiation affects the facades of nearby buildings, stored materials and people outdoors.
- Explosion: The pressure wave breaks windows and damages light structures; fragments can travel hundreds of metres.
- Toxic release: A cloud of ammonia, chlorine or another toxic gas moves in the direction the wind carries it and recognises no boundary.
When an incident at one site triggers a second incident at a neighbour, this is called the domino effect. The fire at the refinery on the shore of the Gulf of İzmit during the 1999 Marmara earthquake showed everyone in the region that a natural disaster and an industrial accident can combine. The assessment of neighbouring risk should therefore not be considered separately from the earthquake scenario; see earthquake emergency plan in the workplace.
What information does the BEKRA Regulation provide to a neighbouring workplace?
The Regulation on the Prevention and Mitigation of Major Industrial Accidents, known for short as the BEKRA Regulation, was prepared taking into account the EU's Directive 2012/18/EU, known as Seveso III. Establishments holding hazardous substances above certain thresholds are classified as lower-tier or upper-tier. Art. 29 of Law No. 6331, on which it is based, requires these workplaces to prepare a major accident prevention policy document or safety report before starting operation.
Some obligations in the regulation are a direct source of information for a workplace neighbouring a Seveso site:
| Obligation | Who does it? | Meaning for the neighbouring workplace |
|---|---|---|
| Informing the public (Art. 16) | Lower- and upper-tier establishments | Minimum information is published permanently on their website or, failing that, on the website of the chamber of industry or commerce they belong to |
| Non-technical summary on request (Art. 16/2-c) | Upper-tier establishments | General information on major accident hazards, their possible effects and the measures to be taken can be requested |
| Response card (Art. 6/2) | Lower- and upper-tier establishments | The response method and protective equipment information for each hazardous substance is sent to the provincial AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Authority) directorate, the fire brigade and the OIZ (organised industrial zone) fire brigade |
| Internal emergency plan (Art. 13–14) | Upper-tier establishments | Reviewed and exercised at least every three years; an opportunity for a joint drill |
| Notification at the time of an accident (Art. 17) | Operator | Immediate notification to the governorship, AFAD, the fire brigade, the provincial health directorate and the OIZ management |
There is no obligation in this table to notify the neighbouring workplace directly. You need to plan how the news will reach you.
The flow of information is not one-way either. Under Article 8 of the regulation, when establishments prepare their major accident scenario document, they also identify hazards originating from outside the establishment that could affect their hazardous equipment. A neighbour storing flammable materials near the boundary, with heavy forklift traffic or carrying out hot work, is an input to this scenario. A meeting with the neighbouring site helps clarify your external hazard scenario while also contributing to theirs.
How to add external hazards to the emergency plan
Art. 5 of the Regulation on Emergencies in Workplaces requires the employer to consider environmental conditions when identifying emergencies. Art. 10/7 is more explicit: emergency response and evacuation procedures are determined taking into account adverse effects that may come from nearby workplaces and the surroundings. The risk assessment is also renewed when a new external hazard arises. Implementation steps:
- Map your neighbours. Mark the hazardous substance facilities, storage tanks, filling and unloading areas and pipelines around your workplace on a site sketch.
- Gather information. Read the neighbouring site's public BEKRA information; request information on scenarios in the area from the OIZ management and, if necessary, the provincial AFAD directorate.
- Select the scenario. For fire, explosion and toxic cloud separately, answer the question "how would it reach us, and how quickly?"
- Determine the protective action. For each scenario, write whether evacuation or shelter-in-place will apply and who will make the decision.
- Set up the way you will be alerted. Establish two channels: by telephone with the neighbouring site's control room or emergency coordinator, and via the OIZ announcement system and 112.
- Update the plan and the risk assessment. Write the external hazard as a separate heading in the risk assessment; for managing change, see our article on management of change and risk revision.
Shelter in place or evacuate?
The most common mistake in emergency planning near a chemical plant is giving the same answer to every scenario: "Everyone to the assembly point." In a toxic cloud, an outdoor assembly point can be more dangerous than the building.
| Scenario | First sign | Protective action | Preparation needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toxic gas cloud | Odour, burning eyes, warning from the neighbour or the OIZ | Shelter in the building: doors and windows are closed, ventilation and fresh air intake are stopped | Single-point emergency shutdown for the air handling unit, an internal shelter room that can be kept sealed |
| Major fire | Thick smoke, flames, neighbouring site alarm | Evacuation to the assembly point upwind | Assembly points in two different directions, a windsock showing wind direction |
| Explosion risk | Escalation of a leak or fire, official evacuation call | Moving away from glazed surfaces, evacuation in the direction directed by the authorities | No workstations in front of glass facades, an alternative evacuation route |
When a decision is made to shelter in the building, employees gather in an internal area with no external wall and few windows; the headcount is taken there. Wind direction determines the direction of evacuation. A single assembly point is therefore not enough; for selection criteria, see our article on choosing an assembly point. The steps to follow when a chemical spill occurs in your own workplace are in our article on responding to chemical spills.
Alarms, communication and drills
The neighbouring site's siren may not be heard in your building; even if it is, your employees may not know what it means. Therefore:
- Learn the alarm signals of the neighbouring site and the OIZ and introduce them to your employees.
- In your own alarm system, prepare two different announcement texts for "shelter in the building" and "evacuate"; for details, see emergency alarms and announcements.
- Assign one member of the protection team to receive external warnings and pass them on to management.
- Run one of the drills that must be held at least once a year with a "shelter in the building" scenario; measure how many minutes it actually takes to shut down the ventilation. For the drill procedure, see how to run an emergency drill.
Checklist:
- Are the surrounding hazardous substance facilities marked on the site sketch?
- Has the neighbouring site's public BEKRA information been read and incorporated into the plan?
- Is the evacuation or shelter decision written down for each external scenario?
- Is the emergency shutdown point for ventilation known and marked?
- Are there at least two assembly points to choose from depending on the wind?
- Are the contact details of the OIZ management and fire brigade up to date?
At Bursa Sistemer, when we provide emergency plan and risk assessment services from Bursa to workplaces in Kocaeli, we add neighbouring site scenarios to the plan as a separate section and test them in drills. For our service arrangements in the province, see our Kocaeli OSGB page, and for sector risks, our chemicals and plastics page.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find out whether our neighbour falls within the scope of BEKRA?
Lower- and upper-tier establishments must publish their public information on their own website or, failing that, on the website of the chamber of industry or commerce they belong to. The OIZ management can also provide guidance on these facilities in the area.
Must the risk at a neighbouring site be written into our emergency plan?
Yes. The Regulation on Emergencies in Workplaces requires response and evacuation procedures to be determined taking into account adverse effects that may come from nearby workplaces and the surroundings.
Do we evacuate in a toxic gas cloud?
In most cases, people first shelter in the building: doors and windows are closed and ventilation is stopped. The decision to evacuate is made according to the direction of the cloud and the instructions of the authorities.
Can the domino effect also start from our workplace?
Yes. A workplace that stores flammable materials close to a neighbouring hazardous substance facility can affect that facility with its own fire. Storage near the boundary should therefore be assessed together with the neighbouring site.
An emergency plan that really works on site, with scenarios, support teams, evacuation diagrams and an annual drill.
Bursa SİSTEMER OSGB Technical Team — written from the field experience of our OHS specialists and workplace physicians. Legal information is valid as of the publication/update date; contact us for an assessment specific to your business.