China Consults on Group Standards for Coding and Labeling of Hazardous Chemicals

China Chemical Safety Association is currently soliciting public comments on two draft group standards related to coding and labeling of hazardous chemicals. Comments are welcome before August 31, 2023.

Technical specification for coding and labeling of hazardous chemicals
It applies to the to the coding and identification of Hazchem QR Code in the production, storage, transportation, operation, use, etc. of hazardous chemicals. It covers aspects including the objects to be coded, coding principles, coding structure and analysis, information identification, and use requirements.
Technical specification for selection of electronic labels for hazardous chemicals
It pertains to the requirements for Hazchem electronic labels which utilize radio frequency identification (RFID) tags used in the production, storage, transportation, operation, use and disposal of hazardous chemicals. As proposed, the electronic labels should be generated in the type of passive tag, operating in the ultra-high frequency (840 MHz～960MHz).

These two drafts can be accessed here.

Background

In February 2022, China launched a new platform for the registration of hazardous chemicals (Hazchem), which allows manufacturers or importers that obliged to complete Hazchem registration to generate hazardous chemicals safety information code (Hazchem QR Code) online automatically. Scanning the generated Hazchem QR Code gives you quick and easy access to the basic information automatically extracted from the Hazchem registration applications, including:

Chemical name,
CAS number,
Hazchem registration number,
Enterprise name,
Label elements (signal words, hazard pictograms, hazard statement), first aid measures,
Emergency response for leakage,
Firefighting methods, etc.

In many regions of China, e.g., Guangzhou province, Shandong province, Zhejiang province, etc., enterprises that manufacture/import hazardous chemicals shall affix the generated Hazchem QR Code to the packages or display it on the blank space of the corresponding labels (see figure below). This facilitates easy access to chemical safety information for downstream users, regulatory authorities, emergency rescue teams, and related personnel.

To regulate the management and utilization of the Hazchem QR Code and promote the effective transfer of the corresponding Hazchem information, the Chinese Ministry of Emergency has drafted the Regulations on the Management of Hazardous Chemical Safety Information Codes (Trial) in 2022. It’s not finalized so far. The abovementioned two group standards were drafted by China Chemical Safety Association to provide technical specifications for enterprises regarding the use of Hazchem QR Code.