China Hazardous Chemicals Regulations - Decree 591

The first law that regulated the safe management of dangerous chemicals in China came into being in 1987 when the so-called Regulations of Chemical Dangerous Goods Safety Management took effect on 2 February. After 15 years’ constant legal improvement, the State Economic and Trade Commission published on 2^nd March 2002 a new regulation Decree No. 344 based on the 1987 law. However, due to the reform of governmental institutions and rapid development of hazardous chemical industry, Decree No. 344 began falling short of efficently regulating the hazardous chemicals industry.