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In recent years, accidents caused by the transport of dangerous goods in China have increased in tandem with the rapid development of chemical industry. In order to minimize the chances of accidentsand reduce the damage to property, personal health and the environment, China developed special transport conditions for dangerous goods .
In China, the legislative system for transport of dangerous goods can be divided into four levels: International Conventions/Rules, National Laws/Administrative Regulations, Departmental rules and Technical Standards.
Contents
International Conventions/Rules
In order to ensure consistency between different regulatory systems, “the UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods - Model Regulations” (hereafter referred to as “the UN Model Regulations”) have been developed by the United Nations Economic and Social Council's Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods. The Model Regulations consist of seven parts, covering principles of classification and definition of classes, listing of the principal dangerous goods, general packing requirements, testing procedures, marking, labelling or placarding, and transport documents. Recommendations on Tests and Criteria, which are incorporated by reference into certain provisions of these regulations, are published as a separate manual (“Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Manual of Tests and Criteria”). The UN Model Regulations prescribe detailed requirements applicable to the transport of dangerous goods. For the purposes of adaptation to technical and scientific progress, the Model Recommendations are updated every two years and the current version is the 17th revised edition (2011 version).
The Model Regulations aim to present a basic scheme of provisions that allows uniform development of national and international regulations governing the various modes of transport, yet they remain flexible enough to accommodate any special requirements that might have to be met. Various organizations publish Dangerous Goods Codes based on the UN Model Recommendations for different modes of transport. These rules are now closely aligned with the UN Model Recommendations with the text for classification, identification, marking and labeling reproduced from the UN Model Regulation. Such International rules are as follows:
International Rules | Developing Organization |
International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG Code) | International Maritime Organization (IMO) |
| ICAO-TI |
International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR) International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterways (ADN) | Economic Commission for Europe Committee |
Regulations Concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail (RID) | Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) |
In China, the International Conventions/Rules are the basis for developing its own National Standards and Industry Standards for transport of dangerous goods. The rules and standards related to the railway and road transport of dangerous goods are mainly based on the UN Model Regulation. Since most of the dangerous goods are imported/exported by waterway or by air, the relevant waterway and air dangerous goods transport rules and standards in China are basically consistent with the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG Code) and the International Civil Aviation Organization Technical Instructions on the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air (ICAO-TI).
National Laws/Administrative Regulations
The national laws and regulations are the important basis for the development of the departmental rules of dangerous goods transport. The revised “Regulations on the Control over Safety of Hazardous Chemicals” (hereafter referred to as “the State Council Decree 591”) came into force since 1 Dec 2011. Considered as the principal legislation for the management of dangerous goods and hazardous chemicals in China, Decree 591 regulates them through the entire supply chain, ranging from manufacture, importation, distribution, storage, to transportation and use. The enterprise's responsibilities and obligations, as well as the punishment measures of non-compliance for dangerous goods transport are stipulated in the Regulation.
Departmental Rules
Departmental rules were established for different modes of transport, which are developed for full implementation of the national laws/administration regulations. These main rules are as follows:
“Rules on the Administration of the Railway Transport of Dangerous Goods” (铁路危险货物运输管理规则), issued by the Ministry of Railways, implemented from 1 Dec 2008.
“Provisions on the Administration of the Road Transport of Dangerous Goods” [Order of the Ministry of Communications (No. 9 [2005]) (道路危险货物运输管理规定), issued by Ministry of Communications, came into force on August 1, 2005.
“Rules on the Waterway Transport of Dangerous Goods” [Order of the Ministry of Communications (No. 10 [1996]) (水路危险货物运输规则), issued by Ministry of Communications, came into force on December 1, 1996. This rule applies to domestic waterway transport, but for international maritime transport, the IMDG Code should be applied.
“Provisions of the Administration of Civil Air Transport of Dangerous Goods in China” (CCAR-276) (中国民用航空危险品运输管理规定), Promulgated by Order No.121 of the Civil Aviation Administration of China on July 12, 2004, came into force on September 1, 2004.
Technical Standards
Three types of technical standards are established in China: general basic safety standards, safety technical standards and safety management standards. The most important general basic safety standards for transport of dangerous goods are as follows:
The latest standard was issued on 11 May 2012, and will come into effect since 1 Dec 2012. It is based on the 16th revised edition of the UN Model Regulation, and closely aligned with the “PART 2 CLASSIFICATION” of the Regulation.
This standard includes mandatory classification (including "category", "division" and "packing category"), hazard priority and codes of dangerous goods. Chemicals (including mixtures and solutions) and articles subject to this standard are assigned to one of the nine classes according to the hazard or the most predominant hazards they present. Some of these classes are subdivided into divisions. These classes and divisions are:
Class 1: Explosives | Division 1.1: Substances and articles which have a mass explosion hazard Division 1.2: Substances and articles which have a projection hazard but not a mass explosion hazard Division 1.3: Substances and articles which have a fire hazard and either a minor blast hazard or a minor projection hazard or both, but not a mass explosion hazard Division 1.4: Substances and articles which present no significant hazard Division 1.5: Very insensitive substances which have a mass explosion hazard Division 1.6: Extremely insensitive articles which do not have a mass explosion hazard |
Class 2: Gases | Division 2.1: Flammable gases Division 2.2: Non-flammable, non-toxic gases Division 2.3: Toxic gases |
Class 3: Flammable liquids | |
Class 4: Flammable solids; substances liable to spontaneous combustion; substances which, on contact with water, emit flammable gases | Division 4.1: Flammable solids, self-reactive substances and solid desensitized explosives Division 4.2: Substances liable to spontaneous combustion Division 4.3: Substances which in contact with water emit flammable gases |
Class 5: Oxidizing substances and organic peroxides | Division 5.1: Oxidizing substances Division 5.2: Organic peroxides |
Class 6: Toxic and infectious substances | Division 6.1: Toxic substances Division 6.2: Infectious substances |
Class 7: Radioactive material | |
Class 8: Corrosive substances | |
Class 9: Miscellaneous dangerous substances and articles, including environmentally hazardous substances | |
The latest standard was issued on 11 May 2012, and will come into effect since 1 Dec 2012. It is also based on the 16th revised edition of the UN Model Regulation, and closely aligned with the “PART 3 DANGEROUS GOODS LIST, SPECIAL PROVISIONS AND EXCEPTIONS” of the Regulation.
This standard provides the structure of the dangerous goods list, and lists the dangerous goods most commonly carried but is not exhaustive. Each entry in the Dangerous Goods List is characterized by a UN number. This list also contains relevant information for each entry, such as proper shipping name and description, hazard class or division, subsidiary risk(s) (if any), UN packing group (where assigned), special provisions, packing and tank transport requirements, etc.
Where a substance or article is specifically listed in the Dangerous Goods List, it should be transported in accordance with the provisions concerning the substance or article of interest.
“General Specifications for Transport Packages of Dangerous Goods” (GB 12463-2009)
The latest standard was issued on June 21, 2009, and implemented from May 1, 2010. This standard specifies the packaging groups, basic requirements, technical requirements, performance test, inspection method, code and marking of transport packages of dangerous goods. For packing purposes, substances other than those of Classes 1, 2 and 7, divisions 5.2 and 6.2 and self-reactive substances of Division 4.1,. are assigned to three packing groups in accordance with the degree of danger they present:
- Packing group I: Substances presenting high danger;
- Packing group II: Substances presenting medium danger;
- Packing group III: Substances presenting low danger.
The latest standard was issued on 21 Jun 2009, and implemented from 1 May 2010. It is based on the 15th revised edition of the UN Model Regulation. This standard specifies the pictogram, size, color, methods of application for the package labeling symbols of dangerous goods.
In conclusion, the legislative system for transport of dangerous goods consists of a large number of regulations and standards in China at present. Independent regulation systems have being established to adapt to different modes of transport. However, the high level and comprehensive rule/regulation which can be applicable to all modes of transport is still lacking. In this sense, China still has a long way to go before an integrated legislative system for transport of dangerous goods to be established.
