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On January 5, 2020, the Chinese Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) circulated the second draft of the Law on Safety of Hazardous Chemicals [1] to emergency management administrations at various levels to solicit their comments and opinions. The first draft of the Law was published earlier in September 2017.
For the time being, hazardous chemicals are regulated under the Regulations on the Control over Safety of Hazardous Chemicals (see Chempedia [2]), an administrative regulation which is also known as Decree 591. Over the past nearly two decades (Decree 344, the predecessor of Decree 591, was introduced in 2002), the safety situation of hazardous chemicals in the country was overall stable, but serious accidents with devastating consequences still occasionally happened, such as the 2015 Tianjin blasts and the 2019 Xiangshui chemical plant explosion.
Meanwhile, the regulation of hazardous chemicals safety involves various authorities as well as a number of laws and regulations, which results in blank spots and overlaps in the regulatory practices. Therefore, the central government has reckoned it necessary to establish a State-level law so as to fundamentally unify and enhance legislative measures for ensuring safety of hazardous chemicals.
Formulated based on the provisions of Decree 591, the draft Law includes a total of 11 chapters, with aims to further strengthen safety management of chemical parks, ensure that enterprises assume primary responsibilities in safe production, improve the regulatory approaches of authorities and increase efforts to crack down on violations. According to the instructions on the draft, it mainly includes the following seven aspects:
Improve the regulatory system for safety of hazardous chemicals
A working mechanism for safe production of hazardous chemicals will be established, in which businesses assume primary responsibilities, governments serve as regulators, industry self-discipline is practiced and public oversight is encouraged. The responsibilities of different authorities and administrations are also further clarified.
Employ stringent measures on registration and identification of hazardous chemicals
The draft Law requires that the top priority in the regulatory practices should be given to managing the registration and identification of hazardous chemicals. Manufacturers and importers should establish databases for registration information of hazardous chemicals and make public relevant information about SDSs of registered hazardous chemicals and emergency phone numbers. Meanwhile, in line with internationally-accepted practice, the R&D of hazardous chemicals with low volumes, small releases, low exposures, etc. can be exempt from registration requirements.
Enhance the management of planning and safety of chemical parks
The draft Law provides requirements and application and approval procedures for establishment of chemical parks, specifies that a safe distance should be kept between chemical parks and urban built-up areas, densely populated areas, important facilities and sensitive objects. Local governments should assess the safety risks of chemical parks in their respective jurisdiction and take measures to reduce risks.
Take strict safety management measures on manufacture, storage, transport and R&D of hazardous chemicals
A new rule is added in the draft Law, stating that enterprises engaging in manufacture or storage of hazardous chemicals should establish a safety risk assessment and tiered control system and follow the requirements in State or industry standards to install relevant systems and facilities to enhance the online monitoring and early-warning of safety risks. Rules are also provided targeting the pipeline transport and R&D of hazardous chemicals.
Strengthen safety management of use of hazardous chemicals
In order to protect personnel engaging in the use of hazardous chemicals in workplaces, the draft Law requires organizations to provide such personnel with SDSs and labels of hazardous chemicals. It also specifies safety requirements for organizations which use hazardous chemicals and thus constitute major hazard installations; colleges, scientific research establishments and hospitals; and individuals.
Clarify the regulatory responsibility for safe disposal of hazardous chemicals
The safe disposal of hazardous chemicals is a new addition to the draft. It makes clear that the ecology and environment administration should be responsible for supervising the safe generation, collection, storage, utilization and disposal of waste hazardous chemicals.
Exercise harsher punishments against violations
The draft increases the varieties of administrative penalties against enterprises which violate the Law as well as their primary responsible persons, vowing to raise the cost for violators and prevent relevant risks and accidents.
The Law, once published officially, will set the tone for the reform of chemical management systems in China. ChemLinked will keep any eye on it and inform you of the latest developments.
