Shanghai Consults on Use Safety Management Guidelines of Hazardous Chemicals in Industrial and Trade Enterprises
On August 23, 2021, Shanghai Emergency Management Bureau issued a notice to seek public feedback on the draft Guidelines for the Use Safety Management of Hazardous Chemicals in Industrial and Trade Enterprises in Shanghai (Trial) (hereafter referred to as the Guidelines). The consultation will end on October 10, 2021.
Given many problems encountered by industrial and trade enterprises in safe use of hazardous chemicals, e.g., insufficient awareness of the dangers of hazardous chemicals among the responsible persons and safety managers of enterprises, inadequate capacity of enterprises to manage and control the use of hazardous chemicals, etc., more and more provinces and cities are implementing local regulations to improve the use safety management of hazardous chemicals in practice. For example, Zhejiang has issued and implemented similar guidelines in 2020.
Shanghai’s Guidelines was drafted based on the Work Safety Law of the people’s Republic of China[1], Regulations on the Control over Safety of Hazardous Chemicals (Decree 591)[2], China Inventory of Hazardous Chemicals (2015 Edition)[3], etc. It 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.
The Guidelines stipulate the safety management specifications for hazardous chemicals. It set in detail the requirements for basic safety management, procurement, loading and unloading, storage, use and disposal of hazardous chemicals, and emergency management, etc.
It should be particularly noted that in Shanghai enterprises are requested to regularly report their use of hazardous chemicals through the “Reporting System for Hazardous Chemical Users” in accordance with the Measures for the Safety Management of Hazardous Chemicals in Shanghai. Enterprises importing hazardous chemicals for their own use directly should register hazardous chemicals in accordance with the Measures for the Administration of Registration of Hazardous Chemicals (SAWS Order 53)[4]. In terms of enterprises using hazardous chemicals imported through trade-based import enterprises, registration of hazardous chemicals and emergency advisory services of the trade-based import enterprises should be regularly inspected in accordance with the Work Safety Law of the people’s Republic of China.
