Administrative Regulations on the Safety of Hazardous Chemicals

Administrative Regulations on the Safety of Hazardous Chemicals

Order of the State Council [2002] No. 344

January 26, 2002

The Administrative Regulations on the Safety of Hazardous Chemicals, which were approved at the 52th executive meeting of the State Council on January 9, 2002, are hereby promulgated, and shall come into force on March 15, 2002.

Premier Zhu Rongji

Appendix: Administrative Regulations on the Safety of Hazardous Chemicals

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 These Regulations are formulated in order to enhance the safe management of hazardous chemicals, so as to guarantee the safety of the lives and property of the people and to protect the environment.

Article 2 The production, management, storage, transportation and use of hazardous chemicals and the disposal of waste hazardous chemicals in China shall comply with the provisions of these Regulations and the laws and other administrative regulations of the state related to production safety.

Article 3 The hazardous chemicals as mentioned in these Regulations shall include explosives, compressed gas and liquefied gas, inflammable liquids, inflammable solids, self-igniting articles and articles inflammable in humid environment, oxidants and organic peroxides, toxicants and corrosives, etc.
The hazardous chemicals shall be listed in the List of Dangerous Goods (GB12268) promulgated by the national criteria; the catalog of highly toxic chemicals and other hazardous chemicals not listed in the List of Dangerous Goods shall be determined and promulgated by the comprehensive economic and trade administration department under the State Council in conjunction with the departments of public security, environmental protection, hygiene, quality inspection and transportation under the State Council.

Article 4 The principals of the units that produce, manage, store, transport and use hazardous chemicals and dispose of waste hazardous chemicals (hereinafter referred to as the hazardous chemicals units) must guarantee that the safe management of the hazardous chemicals of the units comply with the provisions of the relevant laws, regulations and rules, and the requirements of the national criteria, and shall be responsible for the safety of the hazardous chemicals of their respective units.
The personnel of the hazardous chemicals units who are engaged in the production, management, storage, transportation and use of hazardous chemicals and the disposal of waste hazardous chemicals must accept the training on the relevant laws, regulations and rules, safety knowledge, professional technology, occupational hygiene protection and knowledge of emergency treatment, and shall pass the examinations before the they take their posts and start operations.

Article 5 The relevant departments that supervise and administer the production, management, storage, transportation and use of hazardous chemicals and the disposal of waste hazardous chemicals shall perform their duties in accordance with the following provisions:
1. The comprehensive economic and trade administration department under the State Council and the economic and trade administration departments of the people' s governments of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall, in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations, be responsible for the general work of the safety supervision and administration of hazardous chemicals, for the examination of the establishment of the enterprises that produce and store hazardous chemicals and the reconstruction and expansion of those enterprises, for the examination and point fixing of the professional production enterprises of the package and containers of hazardous chemicals (including the tanks used in the transportation means, hereinafter the same), for the issuance of license for management of hazardous chemicals, for the registration of domestic hazardous chemicals, for the organization and coordination of the emergency treatment of hazardous chemicals accidents and for the supervision and inspection of the aforesaid matters; the departments responsible for the general work of safety supervision and administration of hazardous chemicals of the people's governments at municipal level of cities divided into districts and at county level shall be determined by the people's governments at the corresponding level, and shall perform the duties in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations.
2. The public security departments shall be responsible for the administration of the public security of hazardous chemicals, for the issuance of the purchase warrants and purchase permits for highly toxic chemicals, for the examination and issuance of the passes for road transportation of highly toxic chemicals and the supervision of the road transportation safety of hazardous chemicals, and for the supervision and inspection of the aforesaid matters.
3. The departments of quality inspection shall be responsible for the issuance of the licenses for the production of hazardous chemicals and the package and containers thereof, for the supervision of the quality of the package and containers of hazardous chemicals, and for the supervision and inspection of the aforesaid matters.
4. The departments of environmental protection shall be responsible for the supervision and administration of the disposal of waste hazardous chemicals, for the investigation of major hazardous chemicals pollution accidents and incidents of ecological damage, for the emergency monitoring on the scenes of toxic chemicals accidents and the registration of imported hazardous chemicals, and for the supervision and inspection of the aforesaid matters.
5. The departments of railways and civil aviation shall be responsible for the railway and air transportation of hazardous chemicals, and the safe management and supervision and inspection of the railway and civil aviation transportation units of hazardous chemicals and their transportation means. The departments of transportation shall be responsible for the safe management of the road and water transportation units of hazardous chemicals and their transportation means, for the supervision of the safety of water transportation of hazardous chemicals, for the quality certification of the road and water transportation units, drivers, shipmen, loading and unloading personnel and escorting personnel of hazardous chemicals, and for the supervision and inspection of the aforesaid matters.
6. The administrative departments of hygiene shall be responsible for the identification of the toxicity of hazardous chemicals and the medical treatment of the casualties in hazardous chemicals accidents.
7. The administrative departments for industry and commerce shall, in accordance with the documents of approval or licenses of the relevant departments, verify and issue the business licenses to the units of the production, management, storage or transportation of hazardous chemicals, and shall supervise and administer the market operation activities of hazardous chemicals.
8. The departments of postage shall be responsible for the supervision and inspection of the mailing of hazardous chemicals.

Article 6 The relevant departments that supervise and administer the hazardous chemicals units in accordance with these Regulations may exercise the following authorities:
1. To enter the operation places of hazardous chemicals and make on-spot examinations, investigate and obtain the relevant materials, seek information from the relevant personnel and put forward measures for and suggestions on rectification of the hazardous chemicals units;
2. To order immediate elimination or elimination within the time limit when finding hidden dangers of hazardous chemicals accidents;
3. To order immediate ceasing of use of the facilities, equipments, apparatus and transportation means that fail to meet the provisions of laws, regulations and rules and the requirements of the national criteria as deemed so based on proper grounds; and
4. To correct on the spot or order correction within the time limit when finding illegal acts.
The hazardous chemicals units shall accept the supervision and inspection by the relevant departments according to law, and may not refuse or hinder the supervision and inspection.
The working personnel sent out by the relevant departments shall show their certificates when making the supervision and inspection according to law.

Chapter II Production, Storage and Use of Hazardous chemicals

Article 7 The state adopts uniform planning, rational arrangement and strict control of the production and storage of hazardous chemicals, and adopts the examination and approval system of the production and storage of hazardous chemicals; no unit or individual may produce or store hazardous chemicals without examination and approval.
The people's governments at municipal level of city divided into districts shall, according to the actual needs of the development of local economy, map out the appropriate areas specially used for the production and storage of hazardous chemicals when compiling the overall plan according to the principle of safety guarantee.

Article 8 The enterprises that produce or store hazardous chemicals must meet the following requirements:
1. having the production technique and equipment or storage methods and facilities that meet the national criteria;
2. the protection distance around the factories and storehouses meet the national criteria or the relevant provisions of the state;
3. having the management personnel and technical personnel that meet the needs of production or storage;
4. having sound and complete systems of safe management; and
5. meeting other conditions as required by the provisions of laws and regulations and the national criteria.

Article 9 To establish an enterprise of production or storage of highly toxic chemicals or an enterprise of production or storage of other hazardous chemicals, an applicant shall submit the application separately to the comprehensive economic and trade administration department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government and the department responsible for the general work of safety supervision and administration of the people's government at municipal level of city divided into districts, and shall submit the following documents:
1. the feasibility research report;
2. physical and chemical performance indicators such as the ignition point, self-ignition point, flash point, explosion limit, toxicity, etc. of the raw materials, semi-finished products, finished products or stored hazardous chemicals;
3. technical requirements for package, storage and transportation;
4. report on safety evaluation;
5. measures for emergency treatment of accidents; and
6. supporting documents that meet the requirements as prescribed in Article 8 of these Regulations.
After receiving the application and the documents submitted, the comprehensive economic and trade administration department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government or the department responsible for the general work of safety supervision and administration of the people's government at municipal level of city divided into districts shall organize the relevant experts to make examination, and after the examination opinions are given, report to the people's government at the corresponding level for the decision on approval or disapproval. Upon the decision on approval by the people' government at the corresponding level, the comprehensive economic and trade administration department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government or the department responsible for the general work of safety supervision and administration of the people's government at municipal level of city divided into districts shall issue the approval letter; upon disapproval, the applicant shall be informed in written form.
The applicant shall go through the procedures for registration at the administrative department for industry and commerce on the strength of the approval letter.

Article 10 With the exception of filling stations and gas stations for transportation means, in respect of the production equipments of hazardous chemicals and the storage facilities of which the storage quantity constitutes major danger sources, the distance between those equipments and facilities and the following places and areas must meet the national criteria and the relevant provisions of the state:
1. areas with intensive population such as residential areas, business centers and parks, etc.;
2. public facilities such as schools, hospitals, cinemas and stadiums (gymnasiums), etc.;
3. sources of water supply, water factories and protection zones of water source;
4. stations, docks (excluding those approved to be especially engaged in the loading and unloading of hazardous chemicals according to the provisions of the state), airports, and the trunk lines of roads, railways and waterways, subway wind booths, entrances and exits;
5. basic farmland protection zones, pasturage areas, fishery water areas, and production bases of seeds, breeders, and aquatic breeds;
6. rivers, lakes, scenic spots and natural protection zones;
7. military forbidden zones and military administered zones; and
8. other areas to be protected as prescribed by laws and administrative regulations.
Where the production equipments of hazardous chemicals and the storage facilities of which the storage quantity constitutes major danger sources that have been built fail to meet the provisions of the preceding item, the department responsible for the general work of the safety supervision and administration of hazardous chemicals of the people's government at municipal level of city divided into districts of the locality shall supervise the rectification within the prescribed time limit; if it is necessary to change the production, stop the production, be moved or be closed, the approval of the people's government at the corresponding level shall be obtained prior to the implementation.
The major danger sources as mentioned in these Regulations shall refer to the cells (including places and facilities) that produce, transport, use or store hazardous chemicals or dispose of hazardous chemicals, and the quantities of the hazardous chemicals amount to or exceed the threshold quantity.

Article 11 Where enterprises of production or storage of hazardous chemicals are to be reconstructed or expanded, they must go through the examination and approval procedures in accordance with the provisions of Article 9 of these Regulations.

Article 12 Production enterprises of hazardous chemicals established according to law must apply to the department of quality inspection under the State Council for the license for the production of hazardous chemicals; no production may be started unless the license for the production of hazardous chemicals is obtained.
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