China’s Chemical Supervision Scheme 2019: Hazardous Chemicals, Oil & Gas Pipelines, Fireworks & Firecrackers, and Non-pharmaceutical Precursor Chemicals of Drugs

* This article contains excerpts from an interpretation presented by Mr. Sun Guangyu (Head of Safety Regulation Division III under the MEM), offering his expert advice on key policy developments to regulate chemicals in China.

On February 14, 2019, the Chinese Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) published its 2019 scheme on chemical supervision and control. The arrangements are mainly devised to regulate hazardous chemicals, oil and gas pipelines, fireworks and firecrackers, and non-pharmaceutical precursor chemicals of drugs.

According to the MEM, in order to eradicate the possibility of major accidents and improve control and regulation of major risks, a total of six key missions are developed with each involving specific requirements.

Mission I: Enhance supervision and management of major risks and forestall serious and major accidents

• Measures should be taken to construct and improve an accountability system for controlling major risks. In this regard, the focus should be placed on procedures, sites, or facilities which are exposed to major risks, including: major hazard installations for hazardous chemicals; processing and manufacturing facilities which are subject to key regulation; maintenance operations and special operations; high consequence areas (HCAs) in oil and gas pipeline systems; etc.

• More information technologies should be applied to risk regulation and control. For specific applications of information technologies, examples are given in the table below.

• We should exercise regulation that starts with the source. Key regions should introduce catalogues of hazardous chemicals which should be prohibited, restricted, or subject to strict regulation. A multi-department joint approval system for construction projects of hazardous chemicals should be implemented as soon as possible. Meanwhile, strict safety approval procedures and regulations should be practiced targeting hazardous chemicals subject to key regulation, hazardous chemical processes subject to key regulation, major hazard installations, and HCAs in oil and gas pipeline systems.

• Risk control and regulation for key periods, key regions, and key enterprises must be enhanced. For example, experts and specialists can be dispatched to key counties to provide guidance on the monitoring work.

• Vigorous efforts should be made to push forward regulation of risks in key links such as transport and use of hazardous chemicals.

• The capacity for dealing with relevant emergencies should be bolstered.

Mission II: Make substantial progress in comprehensive safety management of hazardous chemicals and special campaigns for industrial chemicals and fireworks and firecrackers

• It should be ensured that the plan for comprehensive safety management of hazardous chemicals can be completed on schedule. The plan involves a wide spectrum of issues, including catalogues of hazardous chemicals which are subject to special regulation, unified safety management of chemical parks, screening of safety hazards, platform for sharing regulatory information, etc.

• Special campaigns for industrial chemicals should be deepened. Among initiatives in this regard, top priorities include screening and treatment of flammable, explosive, and toxic gases like vinyl chloride, safety management of the chlor-alkali industry, and safety management of sewer pipe networks and their surroundings.

• Special campaigns for fireworks and firecrackers should be constantly deepened. Measures are taken especially to address problems in the manufacturing and operations of fireworks and firecrackers. Moreover, the transformation and upgrading of enterprises manufacturing fireworks and firecrackers should be accelerated.

Mission III: Vigorously ensure implementation of regulatory and law enforcement responsibilities and prompt enterprises to assume primary responsibility

• Stricter administrative approval procedures should be exercised; law enforcement should be carried out in a well-regulated, targeted, efficient, and strict fashion; and inspections and investigations for accidents must be strengthened, so that enterprises and authorities can draw lessons from them and avoid repeating the mistakes.

• For those assuming principal responsibility for their enterprises, a strict commitment and evaluation system will be implemented to hold them accountable.

• Efforts should be made to formulate and introduce manufacturing safety standards for enterprises engaged in manufacturing and operations of hazardous chemicals, fireworks and firecrackers, and oil and gas pipelines.

• Strengthened regulation should be exercised on enterprises which are managed by the central government and engaged in manufacturing of chemicals.

• Measures should be taken to standardize the management of enterprises engaged in manufacturing and operations of non-pharmaceutical precursor chemicals of drugs.

Mission IV: Step up the formulation of urgently-needed laws, regulations and standards

For the list of urgently-needed laws, regulations, and standards, see the stable below.

Moreover, we will promote the greater public understanding of newly published regulations and standards like Identification of Major Hazard Installations for Hazardous Chemicals (GB 18218-2018) and Risk Criteria for Hazardous Chemicals Production Unit and Storage Installations (GB 36894-2018), so as to facilitate their implementation.

Mission V: Push forward technological advances, talent cultivation, and joint governance

• We should act faster to raise the level of IT-enabled regulation, and promote the integration of Internet, Internet of things, and other technologies with safety supervision; meanwhile, advanced methodologies and technologies should be applied at a larger scale, including automatic control, quantitative risk evaluation, hazard and operability analysis, etc.

• Training of high-quality, skilled personnel should be advanced.

• We should carry out intensive publicity and education about workplace safety to increase public awareness and help relevant personnel build up self-protection skills.

• Various parties in the society should be encouraged to participate in the joint governance, including the government, third-party professional oversight agencies, industry associations, and even ordinary people.

Mission VI: Make constant improvements to community-level regulatory capabilities

• The central government should prompt local governments and agencies to properly handle safety supervision during the institutional reform.

• Build-up of community-level regulatory capabilities should be further enhanced.