China clarifies how to declare components of hazardous mixtures transported in Port of Shanghai’s Waigaoqiao area 
China’s Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration on Feb. 8 issued an explanatory statement clarifying how to declare the components of hazardous mixtures transported by ship in the Port of Shanghai’s Waigaoqiao area.
The Yangtze River Protection Law, which came into effect in March 2021, bans in the Yangtze River region the water transport of highly toxic chemicals and other hazardous chemicals banned for transport via inland rivers under national rules. The Waigaoqiao area is located in the main section of the Yangtze River, and therefore according to this law, the transport of these chemicals into and out of the port as well as the passage and transshipment of them in the area has been banned since March 1, 2021.
In this relation, the Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration issued the above statement to clarify declaration requirements for the components of hazardous mixtures listed in material safety data sheets (MSDSs). Here is a tentative translation of the administration’s statement.
- In accordance with Article 2 of the List of Hazardous Chemicals (2015) Implementation Guidelines (trial implementation), it is determined solely based on CAS Registry Numbers whether dangerous goods in question should be banned for transport.
- When a hazardous mixture is transported into or out of the port in the Waigaoqiao area, transported through the area, or transshipped within the area as container dangerous goods, it is recommended that information on all the components of the mixture be provided in the MSDS submitted in dangerous goods declaration. Information on the components of a mixture should contain the names, proportions, CAS Registry Numbers and other necessary information on each component.
- If all the components of a mixture are provided in the MSDS and none of them is banned for transport, the mixture is not considered banned for transport and may be transported into or out of the port in the Waigaoqiao area, transported through the area or transshipped within the area.
- If there is any component of a mixture that is not provided in the MSDS or if all the components are provided in the MSDS and any of them is banned for transport, the following three categories must be provided in the MSDS: health hazard-acute toxicity category, aquatic environmental hazard-acute aquatic toxicity category and aquatic environmental hazard-chronic aquatic toxicity category. If any of these categories falls under Category I, the mixture is banned for transport and may not be transported into or out of the port in the Waigaoqiao area, transported through the area or transshipped within the area.
The full text of the administration’s explanatory statement (in simplified Chinese) is available at
http://info.chineseshipping.com.cn/cninfo/LawsRule/Notice/202202/t20220208_1362658.shtml
