China’s Shanghai releases guidelines listing work safety rules for hazardous chemical companies 
On July 23, 2024, the Emergency Management Bureau of Shanghai, China, published Guidelines Listing Work Safety Rules for Hazardous Chemical Companies in different industries. The guidelines consist of eight parts that cover the following, respectively:
- Special equipment
- Dangerous operations
- Storage and transportation of hazardous chemicals
- General matters
- Petrochemical industry
- Other chemical industries
- Coal chemical industry
- Layout and construction of facilities
Each part lists inspection items, precautionary measures, legal bases and penal provisions regarding operations or things related to hazardous chemicals.
Guidelines for the storage and transportation of hazardous chemicals
As an example, the table below shows a small part of the guidelines for the storage and transportation of hazardous chemicals (partially adapted).
| Place/phase/location | Storage of hazardous chemicals in warehouses | |
| Inspection item | Injury or material leaks caused by non-compliance with the procedure or the lack of effective measures in place when chemicals are put into a warehouse | |
| Main precautionary measures | Before putting chemicals into a warehouse, storage places, handling tools, reinforcement materials, protective equipment and a list of items transferred should be prepared. | The packaging of items put into a warehouse should be complete, and logos and safety labels on it should be compliant with rules. |
| Standard providing the legal basis | Article 7.1 of the General Rules for the Hazardous Chemicals Warehouse Storage (GB 15603-2022) | Article 7.4 of the General Rules for the Hazardous Chemicals Warehouse Storage (GB 15603-2022) |
| Common accidents | Fires, other explosions, poisoning and suffocation | |
| Legal basis for law enforcement | Article 56 of the Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on Safe Production — The production and business units and their leaders or other relevant personnel are prohibited from operating in violation of the operating procedures or the safety administration provisions. | Article 17, Paragraph 1 of the Regulations on the Safe Management of Hazardous Chemicals1 — Packaging of hazardous chemicals must comply with the provisions of laws, administrative regulations and rules, as well as the requirements of national standards and industry standards. |
| Penal provision | Article 88 of the Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on Safe Production — Violators will receive a fine of 10,000 ($1,400) yuan to 50,000 yuan. | Article 78, Paragraph 1 of the Regulations on the Safe Management of Hazardous Chemicals — Violators will receive a correction order and a fine of no more than 50,000 yuan. If they refuse to obey the correction order, a fine of 50,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan. |
The guidelines of Shanghai (in Chinese) are available via the following links:
- Special equipment: https://yjglj.sh.gov.cn/xxgk/xxgkml/jcfb/aqsch/20240725/5e07d68e9653441d9d0b9af1ce8b53a7.html
- Dangerous operations: https://yjglj.sh.gov.cn/xxgk/xxgkml/jcfb/aqsch/20240725/f8ed072f2ac5414ba49a230837738e0a.html
- Storage and transportation of hazardous chemicals: https://yjglj.sh.gov.cn/xxgk/xxgkml/jcfb/aqsch/20240725/381a032841ba47c2a7f5b561dbe36c72.html
- General matters: https://yjglj.sh.gov.cn/xxgk/xxgkml/jcfb/aqsch/20240725/b2f2fe28516c4211ab0efcf76de206ac.html
- Petrochemical industry: https://yjglj.sh.gov.cn/xxgk/xxgkml/jcfb/aqsch/20240725/176cf7d9240641dda6bcd38594815c80.html
- Other chemical industries: https://yjglj.sh.gov.cn/xxgk/xxgkml/jcfb/aqsch/20240725/f1fe4a5142e4478b9adaae6faea69520.html
- Coal chemical industry: https://yjglj.sh.gov.cn/xxgk/xxgkml/jcfb/aqsch/20240725/62f946414ab44b62a2d7f347cfc7c328.html
- Layout and construction of facilities: https://yjglj.sh.gov.cn/xxgk/xxgkml/jcfb/aqsch/20240725/2847d2443a8346a79585d9adadcb0ce5.html
1 危险化学品安全管理条例
