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On December 26, 2024, the National People’s Congress (NPC) of the People’s Republic of China released the Law on Hazardous Chemicals Safety (Draft) for public comments. The consultation period will be due by January 23, 2025.
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Law on Hazardous Chemicals Safety (Draft)On December 26, 2024, the National People’s Congress (NPC) of the People’s Republic of China released the Law on Hazardous Chemicals Safety (Draft) for public comments. The consultation period will be due by January 23, 2025. The legislation is poised to replace the State Council Decree 591.Background
In China, hazardous chemicals are primarily regulated under the Regulations on the Control over Safety of Hazardous Chemicals, an administrative regulation which is also known as the State Council Decree 591. It has been vital in in enhancing safety management of hazardous chemicals, helping prevent and reduce associated accidents. However, as China's economy rapidly develops, managing hazardous chemicals has become increasingly challenging due to:
Inadequate implementation of safety responsibilities,
Poor inter-departmental coordination,
Outdated information monitoring systems,
Insufficient planning of chemical parks, and
Inadequate emergency response capabilities, etc.
Given these challenges, there is a pressing need to establish a dedicated law for managing hazardous chemicals, building upon the existing regulations. This new law aims to strengthen safety management across the entire supply chain and all stages of hazardous chemical handling.
This Draft Law was submitted to the Standing Committee of NPC on 21 December 2024 for its first reading and is now open to the public for stakeholder feedback. Key highlights and changes in the Draft Law compared to current regulations are summarized below.
Enhanced clarity in supervision responsibilities and measures
Chapter 1, Article 7 of the Draft Law clarifies the safety management and supervisory responsibilities of nine key authorities, including emergency management, public security, market regulation, ecology and environment, transport, etc., throughout the lifecycle of hazardous chemicals—covering production, storage, use, operation, and transportation. Additionally, authorities not among the nine specified must also fulfill their respective responsibilities with regard to hazardous chemical safety. The Draft Law requires all involved authorities to enhance supervisory collaboration and joint law enforcement.
Chapter 1, Article 8 specifies supervision and inspection measures, clarifying that authorities responsible for the safety supervision and management of hazardous chemicals are permitted to enter work sites for on-site inspections. It also specifies to enhance the use of information technology to conduct online inspections and spot checks of major hazards.
IT-enabled approaches to safety management
According to Chapter 1, Article 11, involved authorities at or above the county level shall strengthen information-based supervision, implementing electronic labeling of hazardous chemicals and IT-enabled management throughout their lifecycles. Meanwhile, chemical industrial parks shall enhance the information technology infrastructure for hazardous chemicals, achieve information-based safety monitoring, control, and early warning, and establish interoperability with relevant government authorities.
Stricter safety management requirements throughout lifecycle
Chapters 3~6 stipulates more detailed and stricter requirements for the safety management of the production and storage, use, operation and transport of hazardous chemicals. Specifically,
Enterprises that manufacture and/or store hazardous chemicals shall establish a safety risk classification and control system, as well as a process safety management (PSM) system.
Except for manufacturers, importers of hazardous chemicals shall also be obligated to provide the corresponding SDS and GHS label, and timely update them if any new hazards are found.
Units that use hazardous chemicals (including enterprises, schools, research institutions, testing facilities, and medical institutions) shall implement safety management systems and procedures based on the types and quantities of hazardous chemicals being used. They shall provide their employees with SDSs and labels, and inform them the proper emergency measures.
The control requirements for licensing, record keeping, and filing of highly toxic chemicals and explosive precursor chemicals are tightened, prohibiting online sales or purchases.
Clarity in exemptions from hazardous chemical registration
Article 85 outlines the exemption criteria for hazardous chemical registration, i.e., hazardous chemicals with low quantity, low release and low exposure during the process of research and development, trial production and trial marketing shall be exempted from registration. Specific provisions in this regard shall be developed by the Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM), Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), Ministry of Public Security (MPS), Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) and other related government authorities.
Safety management of chemical parks
The Draft Law introduces a dedicated chapter (i.e., Chapter 2, Article 15~21) on the comprehensive planning and rational layout of the hazardous chemical production and storage. It's a topic absent in the current regulations, highlighting the importance of safety management of chemical parks. It emphasizes:
The need for conducting safety risk assessments at least every three years.
The need for planning logistics related to the storage, loading, and transportation of hazardous chemicals, including specific provisions for logistics parks and refueling stations.
The need for maintaining safety distances between chemical parks and urban areas or sensitive sites, incorporating safety control lines into land-use planning.
Chemical parks are required to implement dynamic supervision of all hazardous chemicals entering and exiting the park, as well as conduct risk monitoring and early warning for enterprises within the park, key locations, major hazards, and infrastructure.
The Draft Law is available here.
Following China’s legislation procedure, the Draft Law is now at the deliberation stage (generally requiring three readings), further revisions may be proposed incorporating stakeholders’ opinions. Once deliberation reaches a unanimous agreement among all parties, with no significant issues requiring further study, the legislative process will advance to the voting stage. If a majority supports the draft, the law will be approved for promulgation.
Legislation progress timeline
In late 2017, the first draft of the Law was released, which was drafted in the wake of the 2015 Tianjin blasts.
In June 2019, following the institutional reform of the Chinese government and the 2019 Xiangshui chemical plant explosion, the legislation of the Law was accelerated.
In October 2020, the Chinese Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) published the third draft to solicit public comments and suggestions.
In February 2021, some changes were made in certain specific rules of the draft law, and this version was submitted for deliberation at the executive meeting of the MEM.
In May 2022, the MEM outlined in the "14th Five-Year Plan for Hazardous Chemicals Safety Production" that the system, mechanisms, and legal framework for preventing and mitigating major safety risks related to hazardous chemicals should be improved by 2025
In September 2023, the NPSCS announced the five-year legislative plan, aiming to enact the law on hazardous chemicals safety within its current term (the 14th, ending by 2028).
In May 2024, the NPCSC stated in its 2024 legislative work plan that, the draft law was planned to undergo initial discussions.
In November 2024, the State Council executive meeting discussed and decided to submit the draft law to the NPCSC for deliberation.
On December 21, 2024, the draft law was submitted to the NPCSC for its first reading.
On December 26, 2024, the draft law was released for public comments.
