On October 18, the website of the Ministry of Emergency Management published the “Catalogue of Specially Controlled Hazardous Chemicals (First Edition) (Draft for Public Comment).” Under this framework, construction projects involving specially controlled hazardous chemicals will undergo stringent approval procedures, personnel access will be strictly regulated, and storage will be managed according to fixed-location requirements.
Specially controlled hazardous chemicals refer to those that inherently possess high hazard levels, pose significant safety risks in the event of an accident, entail severe consequences should an accident occur, and are subject to large‑scale circulation, thus requiring enhanced regulatory oversight.
The “Catalogue” lists 20 categories of specially controlled hazardous chemicals, namely: ammonium nitrate (excluding passivated or modified ammonium nitrate), nitrocellulose (including nitrocellulose classified as a flammable solid), potassium chlorate, sodium chlorate, chlorine, ammonia, methyl isocyanate, dimethyl sulfate, sodium cyanide, potassium cyanide, liquefied petroleum gas, liquefied natural gas, ethylene oxide, vinyl chloride, dimethyl ether, gasoline (including methanol‑blended and ethanol‑blended gasoline), propylene oxide, carbon disulfide, methanol, and ethanol.
Control measures include establishing an information platform to implement full‑life‑cycle information traceability and oversight; adopting unified, standardized packaging management; enforcing stringent safety‑production access requirements, with rigorous review and approval for construction projects involving specially controlled hazardous chemicals and strict qualification criteria for personnel; strengthening transportation management; implementing fixed‑location storage management; and other related requirements.
The notice states that, in order to earnestly implement the “Comprehensive Plan for the Safe Management of Hazardous Chemicals,” draw profound lessons from the particularly serious fire and explosion accident at the Ruihai Company’s hazardous‑materials warehouse at Tianjin Port on August 12, strengthen full‑life‑cycle management of hazardous chemicals, and effectively prevent and curb major and especially serious accidents, the Ministry of Emergency Management, together with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Transport, and other departments, has drafted the “Catalogue of Specially Controlled Hazardous Chemicals (First Edition) (Draft for Comments).” The deadline for public consultation is November 18, 2019.
|
|
For hazardous chemicals listed in the “Catalogue of Particularly Controlled Hazardous Chemicals (First Edition),” and taking into account the key stages at which safety risks arise, and subject to compliance with applicable laws and regulations and to economically and technically feasible conditions, efforts should be made to study and implement the following control measures, with a view to minimizing safety risks and effectively preventing and curbing serious and extremely serious accidents.
I. Build an information platform and implement full-lifecycle information traceability and control.
Advance the development of a national information-sharing platform for the regulation of hazardous chemicals, establish a full‑life‑cycle traceability and regulatory system covering all stages—from production, storage, and use to the logistics, transportation, and import/export of finished products—of specially controlled hazardous chemicals, and refine the information‑sharing mechanism to ensure that regulatory data from relevant departments is updated in real time.
QR codes or electronic tags shall be affixed to the packaging of specially controlled hazardous chemicals, as well as to intermediate bulk containers, large containers, portable tank containers, and tank trucks. By leveraging modern information technologies such as the Internet of Things, cloud computing, and big data, full‑life‑cycle tracking, real-time information monitoring, and traceability of these specially controlled hazardous chemicals shall be achieved.
II. Implement Unified and Standardized Packaging Management
Standardize the technical requirements for the classification, protective materials, and marking of packaging for specially controlled hazardous chemicals, as well as the design, manufacture, testing methods, inspection rules, marking, packaging specifications, and usage guidelines for intermediate bulk containers, large containers, portable tank containers, and tank trucks. Strictly enforce packaging performance inspections and packaging‑use certifications for dangerous goods involving specially controlled hazardous chemicals.
III. Strict Admission Standards for Production Safety
Construction projects involving specially controlled hazardous chemicals shall be subject to stringent approval procedures, and access for relevant personnel shall be strictly regulated. Any project that fails to comply with laws and regulations on work safety, national standards, industry standards, or industrial layout plans shall be categorically denied approval.
IV. Strengthening Transportation Management
Establish and rigorously enforce systems for inspection, approval, and record-keeping at the filling and dispatch stages; strengthen management of transport vehicle routes and trajectories, satellite positioning, and transport personnel; and eliminate illegal transportation activities at the source to reduce safety risks.
By leveraging dynamic monitoring of road transport vehicles carrying dangerous goods, we will strengthen online monitoring and early warning for the travel trajectories of road transport vehicles handling specially controlled hazardous chemicals, as well as for violations such as speeding and driving while fatigued.
Accelerate the implementation of electronic waybill management for the transport of dangerous goods by road and rail, with a focus on monitoring the movement of specially regulated hazardous chemicals.
V. Implementing Fixed-Location Storage Management
Relevant entities (excluding ports and schools) shall designate specific areas, storage rooms, or fixed storage tanks within dedicated warehouses for hazardous chemicals to store specially controlled hazardous chemicals, thereby enhancing management standards, appropriately regulating inventory and turnover levels, strengthening refined management, and achieving standardized placement and management of such specially controlled hazardous chemicals.
Strengthen the management of hazardous cargo storage at ports. Operators of port facilities handling hazardous goods shall store specially controlled hazardous chemicals in dedicated warehouses, storage yards, and storage tanks, and strictly implement segregation in accordance with relevant laws, regulations, and standards. They must also establish an operational information system to record, in real time, the types, quantities, and consignor information of such specially controlled hazardous chemicals, and maintain backup records outside the operational premises.
Specially controlled hazardous chemicals transported by sea, air, rail, or pipeline shall be handled in accordance with the regulations of the competent authorities.
With respect to control measures for specially regulated hazardous chemicals, where otherwise provided by laws, administrative regulations, or rules, such provisions shall prevail.
Reagent products essential for scientific experiments are temporarily excluded from the scope of this catalog; however, relevant entities may, based on actual needs in talent development and scientific research as well as identified risks, implement measures to strengthen their management.
In accordance with the Regulations on the Administration of Urban Gas, urban gas is not subject to this catalog or the special control measures.
Source: China Chemical Industry News |
