Safety priority in dedicated chemicals law

China has enacted its first comprehensive law dedicated to the safety management of hazardous chemicals, after it was adopted by the Standing Committee of the country's top legislature over the weekend.

The Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress passed the Hazardous Chemicals Safety Law on Saturday. The law will take effect on May 1 and establishes a full legal framework governing the entire life cycle of hazardous chemicals, from production and storage to use, transportation and emergency response.

The law contains 10 chapters and 127 articles, setting out clear requirements for identifying hazardous properties, registering hazardous chemicals and strengthening safety oversight across all stages of production and operation, according to an official from the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee.

The official said the legislation was formulated in response to growing safety challenges in the sector, noting that China's hazardous chemicals industry is large in scale, widely distributed and characterized by complex production chains.

Existing problems include inadequate implementation of safety responsibilities, insufficient risk monitoring, weak interagency coordination, lagging information systems and gaps in emergency response capabilities, the official said.

Under the new law, enterprises handling hazardous chemicals are required to implement a full-chain safety responsibility system, establish risk classification and hidden danger inspection mechanisms.

The legislation also clarifies the division of responsibilities among government departments and calls for enhanced coordination and joint law enforcement.

It mandates that chemical industrial parks be planned and managed in accordance with safety requirements, and stipulates that new hazardous chemical production projects must be located within the parks.

Chemical parks must have dedicated safety management bodies, conduct regular comprehensive risk assessments, and exercise real-time supervision over hazardous chemicals entering or leaving the parks.

Those producing and storing hazardous chemicals must install safety facilities, conduct risk assessments, and properly handle materials in shutdowns, suspensions or closures.

Key personnel, including principal managers and safety officers, are required to undergo regular training.

Emergency preparedness is another major focus of the law. Enterprises must develop emergency response plans, organize drills and build professional rescue teams.