Recently, the General Offices of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council jointly published the Opinions on Comprehensively Enhancing Safe Production of Hazardous Chemicals [1]. The Opinions lays out a total of 16 measures, which are circulated to local governments and competent authorities to put in place.
China, the largest chemical powerhouse of the world, has up to 210,000 enterprises working on the manufacture and operations of hazardous chemicals and currently deals with more than 2,800 varieties of hazardous chemicals. However, due to the worrisome safety conditions, poor safety management, and concentration of safety risks, serious and major accidents still occur from time to time.
“The document aims to address the bottlenecks and root causes which fundamentally undermine the production safety of hazardous chemicals, and facilitate continued improvements to the overall situation,” said an official from the Chinese Ministry of Emergency Management.
Overall, the 16 measures are devised to address five aspects, including safety risk control, safety management throughout the industry chain, performance of primary responsibilities by an enterprise, basic support and underpinnings, and capabilities for safety regulation.
To minimize the safety risks associated with hazardous chemicals, the Opinions require that measures be taken to practice strict entry criteria and safety specifications, promote adjustments to the industrial structure and conduct an intensive screening of safety risks. Concerning industrial restructuring, local governments should develop and implement their catalogs for hazardous chemicals, which should be prohibited, restricted or controlled, and cut backward production capacity.
Given the extensive growth of the chemical industry and a severe shortage of specialized talents, the Opinions also calls for efforts to promote scientific and technological advances, talent building, coordination of technical services, and establishment of rescue teams for hazardous chemical-related emergencies.
Moreover, the Opinions highlights that the safety regulation of key links, such as chemical parks, major hazard installations and transport of dangerous goods, must be reinforced.
