¹ The purpose of this Ordinance is to protect the public and the environment against serious harm or damage resulting from major accidents.

² It applies to:

a.⁴

establishments where the threshold quantities for substances, preparations or special wastes specified in Annex 1.1 are exceeded;

b.⁵

establishments where an activity involving genetically modified or pathogenic organisms or alien microorganisms subject to compulsory containment is carried out which is to be assigned to Class 3 or Class 4 in accordance with the Containment Ordinance of 9 May 2012⁶;

c.⁷

railway installations in accordance with Annex 1.2a;

d.

transit roads, as defined in the Ordinance of 6 June 1983⁸ on Transit Roads, where dangerous goods are transported or transhipped in accordance with the Ordinance of 17 April 1985⁹ on the Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (SDR) or the relevant international agreements;

e.

the Rhine, where dangerous goods are transported or transhipped in accordance with the Ordinance of 29 April 1970¹⁰ on the Carriage of Dangerous Goods on the Rhine (ADNR);

f.¹¹

pipeline installations as defined in the Pipelines Ordinance of 26 June 2019¹² which meet the criteria specified in Annex 1.3.

^2bis The enforcement authority may exempt establishments under paragraph 2 letter b from the scope of this Ordinance that:

a.

only carry out Class 3 activities with organisms in accordance with Annex 1.4 which, due to their properties, cannot spread uncontrollably among the public and in the environment; and

b.

due to their hazard potential, cannot seriously harm the public or the environment.¹³

³ In individual cases, the enforcement authority may make the following establishments, transport routes or pipeline installations subject to this Ordinance if, on account of their hazard potential, they could cause serious harm to the public or damage to the environment:¹⁴

a.¹⁵

establishments handling substances, preparations or special wastes;

b.¹⁶

establishments where an activity involving genetically modified or pathogenic organisms or alien microorganisms subject to compulsory containment is carried out which is to be assigned to Class 2 in accordance with the Containment Ordinance, in consultation with the Swiss Expert Committee for Biosafety;

c.

transport routes outside establishments, where dangerous goods are transported or transhipped in accordance with paragraph 2;

d.¹⁷

pipeline installations as defined in the Pipelines Ordinance which do not meet the criteria specified in Annex 1.3.¹⁸

⁴ This Ordinance does not apply to installations and forms of transport which are subject to legislation on nuclear energy and radiological protection, insofar as the associated radiation could cause harm to the public or damage to the environment.¹⁹

⁵ The provisions of Article 10 EPA are directly applicable to establishments or transport routes which, in the case of exceptional events, could cause serious harm to the public or damage to the environment not arising from substances, preparations, special wastes or dangerous goods, or from genetically modified or pathogenic organisms or alien organisms subject to compulsory containment.²⁰