Information Commissioner's Office

Health and Safety Executive

27 March 2008, Education (Other)

The complainant asked, on behalf of his constituents, for the disclosure of information about the risks posed to members of the public from use of Acrylonitrile, a flammable and toxic chemical, at a proposed manufacturing facility. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) withheld the information citing the exception in Regulation 12(5)(a) of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.The Commissioner decided that: the Regulations applied; that Regulation 12(5)(a) was engaged; and that, in all the circumstances of the case, at the time of the internal review and subsequently, the public interest in maintaining the exception outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information. The Commissioner’s decision is that HSE dealt with the request for information in accordance with the Act.

EIR 12.5.a: Not upheld