Because of its international status and because some of its activities are unique in Europe, CERN has its own specific safety regulations. These are based on those of the Member States, with a bias in favour of the most advanced ones. In all cases, CERN is required to comply with the rules in force on the territory of the Host States and to ensure that a level of safety is maintained that is at least equivalent to that provided for by the latters’ own regulations.

2.1 Organisational Structure

As shown in the diagram below, safety responsibilities are an inseparable part of hierarchical responsibilities.

Organisation of safety at CERN

The safety responsibilities and duties at all hierarchical levels at CERN and the responsibilities of safety officers and other persons entrusted with safety activities are described in Annex 2 of document SAPOCO/42. They are summarised below:

The Director-General, who is responsible to the CERN Council for all safety matters, is assisted in this task by the Directors, the Safety Commission and several committees:

• The Safety Commission, which has the following functions:
  • to provide everyone working at and for CERN with the advice and information they need to maintain the Organization’s high safety standards;
  • to make sure that industrial standards are applied;
  • to perform executive safety functions in the following areas:
    • radiation protection,
    • fire fighting and fire prevention,
    • environmental protection,
    • mechanical and electrical inspections,
    • chemical and pollution risk control,
    • occupational health,
    • occupational medicine,
    • medical prevention
    • and emergency medical assistance;
• the Safety Policy Committee (SAPOCO), the advisory body on safety policy and all other important safety matters at CERN;
• the Departmental Safety Officers Committee (DSOC), via SAPOCO;
• the Flammable Gas Safety Officers Committee (FGSOC), via the DSOC and SAPOCO;
• the Radiation Safety Officers Committee (RSOC), via the DSOC and SAPOCO;
• the Cryogenics Safety Officers Committee (CSOC), via the DSOC and SAPOCO;
• the Radiation Protection Committee (RPC);
• the CERN Environment Protection Committee (CEPC);
• the Accident Board;
• the Committee for Examining Firms’ Safety Conditions at Work (CECSTE).

The department heads, who are answerable to the Director-General for all safety matters concerning the activities falling within their competence, shall organise and manage their department in such a way as to ensure that CERN’s safety regulations are fully implemented. If necessary, they shall appoint safety officers from among the members of their department to assist them in meeting their safety responsibilities. These officers may be appointed in one of the following capacities:

• as a Departmental Safety Officer (DSO), who acts on the department head’s behalf in matters of safety;
• as a Radiation Safety Officer (RSO), answerable to the department head, via the DSO, for all matters of radiation safety in the department;
• as a specialist safety officer, such as a Cryogenics Safety Officer (CSO) or a Flammable Gas Safety Officer (FGSO), answerable to the department head via the DSO;
• as a Territorial Safety Officer (TSO), who is answerable to the DSO for the safety and good order of the area for which he is responsible.

The group leaders are answerable to their respective department head for all safety and accident prevention matters related to the work under their supervision. They may appoint a Safety Linkman to assist them, as well as safety officers responsible for individual facilities.

Experiment collaborations are represented in safety matters by a Group Leader in Matters of Safety (GLIMOS), who is responsible for the safety of the experiment from its design to dismantling, including during its installation and operation phases.
The GLIMOS must be at CERN during the installation and operation period and are answerable to the leader of the host department. Their duties are defined in Paragraph 8 of Annex 2.1 of document SAPOCO/42.

To ensure continuity during shift work, the GLIMOS shall appoint Shift Leaders in Matters of Safety (SLIMOS).

Section leaders, heads of service and workshop foremen have essentially the same safety responsibilities, at their respective levels, as the group leaders to whom they are answerable.

Members of the CERN personnel, fellows, associates, registered visitors, students, apprentices and temporary labour personnel are accountable for the observance of the safety rules to their immediate supervisors or to other persons specifically appointed to be responsible for safety issues relating to their work.

2.2 Safety and Outside Contractors

Firms working on the CERN site are required to comply with the occupational health and safety regulations of the Host States, France or Switzerland, according to the part of the site on which they are operating. They are also subject to CERN’s specific rules by virtue of their contractual commitments (see: TIS/GS/98-10).

With CERN’s cooperation and agreement, the competent authorities of the Host States, to whom the firms are answerable, ensure that their respective regulations are complied with. This procedure is described in document DSU-OF/DO/RH/9335: "Relations between CERN, the competent bodies of the Host States and contractors concerning occupational health and safety on the Organization’s site."

In accordance with European Union directives, work representing a volume of more than 4000 hours involving several different firms ("first-category" work) requires a general health and safety coordination plan to be drawn up by a professional safety coordinator appointed by CERN.
All other work ("second-category" work) of a volume of more than 400 hours must be done in compliance with a risk prevention plan drawn up under the auspices of a CERN coordinator (by default the contract manager) in collaboration with the contractors.
The tasks of the safety coordinator are defined in document TIS/GS/98-10.

Contact the DSG-SEE group for questions relating to the follow-up of new construction projects and the safety of contractors’ personnel.

Three committees have been created to coordinate preventive actions in the field of occupational health and safety on the CERN site; details of their terms of reference, composition and organisation are given in Annex 4 of document TIS/GS/98-10. These committees are:

• the Committee for Examining Firms’ Safety Conditions at Work (CECSTE), which comprises representatives from the competent bodies of the Host States and from CERN, namely its Safety Commission, its Relations with the Host States service and, where appropriate, the department commissioning the work;
• an Inter-firm Health, Safety and Working Conditions Committee (CISSCT), which must be set up for all first category work of a volume of more than 80000 hours;
• the Special Health and Safety Committee (CSHS), whose purpose is to supplement the actions of the CECSTE, except in cases where a CISSCT has been set up.

2.3 Public Safety

Members of the public may be admitted to the CERN site on various occasions.
CERN considers the following areas as permanently accessible to the public ("Buildings Open to the General Public" in the CERN sense):

• the Main-Building auditorium,
• the Microcosm exhibition,
• and the nursery school.

As such, these three areas are subject to particularly stringent safety rules.

Compensatory measures are sometimes needed to convert a place of work into an area fit to receive members of the public during special events. In such cases, the Safety Commission and the department responsible for the territory concerned must approve the safety measures proposed by the event organiser.

Created 21.05.1997 - modified 09.07.2010 - Author: DSOC -