China’s Hebei and Jiangsu Provinces Announce Hazardous Chemicals Action Plans 
According to information dated February 22, 2022 from China’s Ministry of Emergency Management, China’s Hebei and Jiangsu provinces announced their hazardous chemical safety management plans in February 2022, clearly outlining their policy of strengthening safety management measures for hazardous chemicals. Hebei Province’s plan states that it will strengthen management over high-risk industries, such as ammonium nitrate production companies, and that it will achieve management through the use of 2D codes based on a new hazardous chemical registration system. Jiangsu Province’s plan indicates that it will establish a framework for “dual measures” for major hazardous source companies, and that it will ensure that hazardous chemicals are managed using 2D codes.
Hebei Province
In February 2022, the Hebei Provincial Emergency Management Bureau announced the “Implementation Plan for Intensive Management of Hazardous Chemicals Safety Risks in Hebei Province,” which presents an intensive management and supervision plan in hazardous chemicals safety risks for the coming year. The plan presents 8 “special plans” for intensive management over the next year, specifying the departments in charge and completion deadlines. One of the 8 special plans, the “Special Work Plan for Safety Risk Management and Administration in High-Risk Subdivisions,” sets goals that include the following.
- To implement “one enterprise, one measure” controls for all ammonium nitrate production, nitrification, phosgenation, fluorination, organosilicon and polysilicon companies.
- To complete special management for styrene, butadiene and diazotization companies.
- To complete all process automation modifications for nitration, phosgenation, fluorination, and diazotization companies.
(“one enterprise, one measure”: the policy is for companies to formulate their own measures to deal with various problems and report them to the government for approval.)
The “Special Work Plan for Promotion of the Hazardous Chemicals Registration Service System” also calls for all hazardous chemical producers and importers and chemical and pharmaceutical companies to register with the new hazardous chemicals registration system and to edit their SDSs and safety label supplements. It indicates that “one company, one product, one code” management (management using 2D codes for hazardous chemicals) will be implemented, and a management framework will be realized in which information on the entire life cycle of hazardous chemicals can be obtained by scanning the codes.
Jiangsu Province
On March 16, 2022, the Jiangsu Provincial Emergency Management Bureau announced the “Implementation Plan for Intensive Management of Hazardous Chemicals Safety Risks in Jiangsu Province,” clarifying that the Bureau will strengthen safety risk management in the production, storage and transportation of hazardous chemicals, waste disposal and chemical industrial park management. The plan mentions 22 safety measures, including the overall strengthening of safety supervision of hazardous chemicals and the establishment of a Hazardous Chemicals Safety Management Committee. Among them, the measures that will affect companies are as follows.
- Continuously reduce the safety risk of chemical industrial parks, and by the end of 2022, the percentage of chemical industrial parks with a safety risk rank of D (low risk grade) will account for more than 50% of the total.
- By the end of 2022, a framework for “dual measures” (a dual prevention system of management by safety risk grade and investigation and management of potential hazards) for major hazard source companies will be established.
- Ensure “one company, one product, one code” management.
The original of the above article can be viewed at the following URL (in simplified Chinese).
https://www.mem.gov.cn/xw/gdyj/202202/t20220222_408291.shtml
