Abstract

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management asked RIVM to develop a tool that can be used to gauge how safe persons living near chemical industry feel. A pilot was carried out to develop an initial version of the tool and to test the tool in two cities: one with a great deal of chemical industry in the vicinity (Zaandam), and one with a few chemical companies located in the city (Deventer). The main goal of this project was the development of a new tool. This tool consists of a questionnaire that provides insight into how safe persons living near chemical industry feel with regard to activities involving hazardous substances. The answers also indicate which factors are related with their feeling of safety. The questionnaire turns out to be a suitable tool for gauging feelings of safety. Measurements can also be repeated to reveal trends over time. However, the formulation and order of presentation of the questions can be improved. In addition, to ensure the effectiveness of the method, the sample of participants chosen must be sufficiently representative of the population. Besides the new tool, also some of the results of the questionnaire are presented. The substantive result of the pilot should be considered indicative, as the participants of the pilot did not form a sufficiently representative sample of the residents of the two cities. It might be obvious, however the answers indicate that residents of a city with a few chemical companies feel safer than residents of a city located near a great deal of chemical industry. The factor that is most closely related to the feeling of safety is the degree to which people are positive about their living environment. The more positive the experience of the living environment is, the more positive the feeling of safety is and vice versa. The degree to which people have confidence that government bodies and companies can prevent an accident from happening also relates to the feeling of safety. The more confidence there is, the greater the feeling of safety and vice versa. The same applies to the degree of confidence that emergency assistance services will be able to mitigate the consequences of an accident with hazardous substances. Finally, people also feel safer if they are confident that they can limit the consequences of a possible accident themselves.