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On May 30, 2020, the Chinese Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM), Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), Ministry of Public Security (MPS) and Ministry of Transport (MOT) jointly published the Catalogue of Hazardous Chemicals Subject to Special Regulation (1st edition) [1].
The Catalogue is devised as a response to security problems associated with a series of accidents, including the 2015 Tianjin explosions. Following the release of the First and Second Batch of List of Hazardous Chemicals under Priority Management [2] in 2011 and 2013, respectively, it represents one of China’s attempts to further focus its regulatory efforts on hazardous chemicals.
Hazardous chemicals subject to special regulation in the Catalogue refer to those which have high inherent hazards, great security risks, severe post-accident consequences and large circulation volumes. With a total of 20 entries, the Catalogue involves four categories of hazardous chemicals, including explosive chemicals (4), toxic chemicals (6), flammable gases (5) and flammable liquids (5). Besides information like “Product name”, “Alias”, “CAS registry number” and “UN number” provided for each entry, it also specifies major hazards of each substance. For example, chlorine is described as “a toxic gas which can result in death in the case of inhalation”.
The Catalogue also provides special regulatory measures to be imposed against such hazardous chemicals, which majorly include six aspects:
l To establish an information platform so as to achieve life-cycle traceability and control of information
l To study unified packaging management rules
l To employ rigorous qualification requirements for safe production
l To strengthen the regulation of transport
l To implement fixed-location management at warehousing sites of hazardous chemicals
l Requirements stipulated by other authorities or under other regulatory frameworks
It should be noted that methanol and ethanol which are included in the category of flammable liquids are subject to only the fourth requirement (“to strengthen the regulation of transport”), and that the approval and management of ammonium nitrate sale and purchase should be subject to regulations concerning civil explosives.
