ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews some of the approaches to the regulation of major industrial hazards which have been taken in various countries, with particular reference to the UK. It describes general safety requirements in several EEC countries and the US. The chapter discusses the development of probabilistic methods and their use for regulation. It sets out the scene for a fuller description of nuclear regulation in several countries. The countries are: UK, Germany, France, Denmark, Netherlands and US. Various international groups are active with the aim of harmonising national approaches to the development of industrial risk safety standards. In the nuclear industry the WASH-740 report had indicated the possibility of accidents with very severe consequences. Outside the nuclear and process industries probabilistic methods and targets are also widely used. The way they have been adopted in the aircraft industry is in many ways a model for all such applications.
