Hazard control event at Bushmills

A MAJOR hazard control event has been held at Bushmills Distillery, Moyle councillors were told.

A Council report said: ‘A Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) plan exercise simulation was held at the Old Bushmills Distillery on 20 February 2011.

‘The Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (NI) 2000 apply when a site has more than a threshold quantity of dangerous substances present.

‘The Old Bushmills Distillery site covers 18 hectares and currently attracts the lower tier COMAH site status. As a result Coleraine District Fire and Rescue Service has completed a COMAH plan for the site.

‘The event ‘Exercise Cheesecake’ was attended by representatives from the Old Bushmills Distillery Ltd, Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, Moyle District Council Environmental Health Department, Police Service of Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Environment Agency and Health and Safety Executive of Northern Ireland.

‘The aim of the exercise was to test the response of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service with respect to implementation of the COMAH plan.

‘The successful exercise concluded with a debriefing session during which lessons learned were shared between participating agencies,’ the report said.