The paper presents the implementation of the SEVESO II Directive in Poland. Particularly, a systematic approach to the realization of MAPP, Safety Report and Emergency Plan is shown. It takes into account the real technical and organizational standards of the Polish major hazard industry as well. The impact of the implementation of SEVESO II Legislation on safety performance changes in particular major hazard companies was assessed using the questionnaires method of data collection. The fundamental question of that survey was: did that exercise improve safety performance or was it just a 'paper work'? The majority of survey reported more positive than negative comments. The conclusions were drawn and some suggestions were made to improve major accident control in Poland. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.