5. Conclusion

For many years now, regulatory texts in France and Europe have included the overall safety organization system for high-risk facilities as a key factor in the prevention of major accidents. Initially designed to justify the involvement of the entire company (human and material resources) in risk management, it has now become a fully-fledged management system for safety and environmental issues.

Highly regulated, the safety management system is also subject to regular inspections by government departments.

It is difficult to quantify the results of implementing such systems on a national (or wider) scale.

However, the REX implemented through safety management systems – since the first Seveso directive – has enabled progress to be made in risk prevention measures. In particular, several industrial accidents are cited...