ABSTRACT
There have been great changes since the 1980s in company policies and in public regulation to ensure the minimisation of the potential for accidents within firms and in particular the potential for accidents creating external crisis for either the public or for other industrial users. There has been a growing realisation that existing forms of regulation were inadequate and specific incidents have triggered demands for governments to take greater preventative precautions. As a result the external regulatory environment in the USA and Europe has become more stringent. At the same time, however, private companies have been developing new and innovative means of reducing potential risks. In this chapter we discuss some of the problems that led to the need for change, and how new technology has transformed the capacity of some firms to control and contain crises. Specific examples are taken from the chemicals sector. Finally the strategic control of crisis is discussed in relation to one multinational in the oil sector. This illustrates the way in which leading firms are developing more effective systems for response and recovery.
