The official Measures has been promulgated on Jul 10, 2013 by the SAWS and will come effect as of Sep 1, 2013.

This draft proposal has been published by the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) on 3 December 2012. Formulated in the context of SAWS Order 53 and State Council Decree 591, the draft measures are designed to promote safety control over chemicals with unknown physical hazards. Presently, China’s chemical manufacturers and importers will be facing a new mandatory program, that is, to conduct physical hazard identification and classification for chemicals with unidentified hazards. If identified as hazardous, the chemicals must be registered according to the SAWS Order 53.

The whole draft comprises six chapters, with Chapter One governing general principles and subject scope of the ruling; Chapter Two stipulating main obligations required of chemical companies; Chapter Three regulating the qualifications of certified identification institutions; Chapter Four explicating the content of physical identification & classification; Chapter Five laying down legal liabilities and penalties and Chapter Six attaching supplementary instructions on exemptions, joint application and fee charging items. Chapter One, Two and Four are extremely important to potential chemical companies in need of chemical physical identification and classification.