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China to Implement Updated Standard on Hazard Evaluation of Liquid Chemicals

China MOT updated a standard on hazard evaluation of liquid chemicals so as to keep aligned with changes in international codes.

Previously on December 31, 2019, the Chinese Ministry of Transport (MOT) published the Specification on Evaluation Method of Hazards of Liquid Chemical Transported in Bulk by ShippingPart 5: Hazard Evaluation Procedure and Determination of Pollution Category (GB/T 16310.5-2019) [1]. The standard will take effect starting from July 1 this year to replace an older version which was released nearly three decades ago.

In 1996, in accordance with Annex II [2] of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 as modified by the Protocol of 1978 (MARPOL 73/78) [3], IBC Code [4] and MEPC.1/Circ.512 [5] of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), China introduced the national standard GB/T 16310.5-1996 [6] to provide rules on classification of liquid chemicals in bulk by ships.

Later on, with amendments to the international codes above, the previous categorization scheme, which included categories A, B, C, D and Annex III (which are considered as posing negligible harm) were replaced by categories X, Y, Z and OS (“other cargoes,” which are considered as not posing any harm). Given this, the 1996 version standard is no longer applicable to current practices.

The standard GB/T 16310.5-2019 is thus formulated to incorporate the changes by revising rules on hazard evaluation procedures of liquid chemicals in bulk by ships, methodology of pollution categorization of liquid chemicals and mixtures, and preparation of evaluation result reports.

It will serve as a technical foundation for increased regulation on liquid chemicals transported in bulk and enhanced implementation of the Regulation on the Prevention and Control of Vessel-induced Pollution to the Marine Environment [6], and inform the practices related to hazard evaluation of relevant chemicals.

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