On November 29, Shanghai Emergency Management Bureau published the Guidelines for the Use Safety Management of Hazardous Chemicals in Industrial and Trade Enterprises in Shanghai (Trial) (hereafter referred to as the Guideline). The Guidelines will come into force on January 1, 2022, and will be valid for two years. Compared with the consultation version published on August 23, 2021 (ChemLinked news), there are some changes in the final version.
Scope
The Guideline applies to enterprises in metallurgy, non-ferrous metals, building materials, machinery, light industry, textiles, tobacco, and trade and commerce sectors, etc., which are involved in the use of hazardous chemicals.
However, it is newly outlined in the Guideline that enterprises using flammable liquids only for cleaning, wiping, testing, etc., of which the volumes existed on-site are below the maximum volume stipulated in GB 50016 (Code for Fire Protection Design of Buildings), are not applicable for the Guideline.
Safety Requirements
The Guideline is formulated based on the Work Safety Law of the people’s Republic of China, Regulations on the Control over Safety of Hazardous Chemicals (Decree 591), China Inventory of Hazardous Chemicals (2015 Edition), etc., specifying the safety management specifications for hazardous chemicals.
Besides GB 50016, GB 50187 (Code for Design of General Plan of Industrial Enterprises) and GB 18218 (Identification of Major Hazard Installations for Hazardous Chemicals), etc., which have been included in the draft version, the Guideline includes more relevant mandatory standards as the basis for enterprises compliance and enforcement by authorities, such as GB 50058 (Code for Design of Electrical Installations in Explosive Atmospheres).
Requirements for the layout of plants, locations, storage facilities and other facilities, as well as equipment, involved in the unloading and use of hazardous chemicals are more detailed and exact in the Guideline. More specifically:
Highly toxic chemicals, as well as other hazardous chemicals of which the storage capacity constitute a major source of hazards, shall be stored separately in the dedicated warehouse.
The maximum storage capacity of each warehouse and each fire compartment shall not exceed the volume required in GB15603 (Rules for the Storage of Commonly Used Hazardous Chemicals).
The safety accessories for storage tanks shall meet the requirements stipulated in TSG 21 (Supervision Regulation on Safety Technology for Stationary Pressure Vessel), AQ 3053 (Safety Technical Specification for Vertical Cylindrical Steel Welded Tank), and other relevant standards.
The location of hazardous chemical storage cabinets shall be equipped with corresponding fire extinguishing equipment in accordance with GB 50140 (Code for Design of Extinguisher Distribution in Buildings).
The whole official document can be accessed here.
