Effects of standardization in risk management regulations for land-use planning related to process industries and transportation of dangerous goods

Preventing and mitigating damage to the surroundings arising from process safety incidents is an important aspect of process safety. Risk-informed or risk-based decision-making are cornerstones in most countries' regulatory regimes for land-use planning. However, the design and implementation of the regulations vary significantly - from countries that have chosen a highly standardized set of rules prescribing detailed technical solutions to less standardized regulations with functional requirements that focus on what is to be achieved rather than how it is achieved. There are strengths and weaknesses associated with risk management regulations being more or less standardized, but empirical evidence favouring high or low levels of standardization is largely lacking. Through interviews with 30 risk management practitioners from three countries (Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands), this paper provides empirical data on the effects of different risk management regulatory regimes. Using CIMO-logic (Context – Intervention – Mechanism – Outcome) to facilitate and structure data analysis, this paper also explores the underlying mechanisms contributing to achieving the effects. The study shows that the perceived effects of standardization of risk management regulations are similar irrespective of respondents' attributes, such as work country, current and previous roles, education level, years of experience, or gender. Similarly, there are no clear trends in the data or in scientific literature that specific effects are exclusively the results of high or low levels of standardization. The effects of standardization are highly contextual, and the balance of benefits and shortcomings of specific regulatory regimes should be explored in each situation. Hence, it cannot be concluded that high or low levels of standardization of risk management regulations should be preferred