The legislative process in the field of hazardous chemicals safety has been accelerated
The executive meeting of The State Council held on the 22nd discussed and approved in principle the "Draft Law of the People's Republic of China on the Safety of Hazardous Chemicals", and decided to submit the draft to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for deliberation.
The chemical industry is one of the pillar industries in China. There are relatively high risks in its production, storage, transportation, and waste disposal links. A responsible person from the Ministry of Emergency Management stated that, on the whole, China's hazardous chemicals safety production is currently in a critical period of climbing over the hump and overcoming difficulties. It not only has favorable conditions for the continuous and stable improvement of the safety production situation, but also faces severe challenges of the superimposition of new and old risks.
The safety of hazardous chemicals is of Paramount importance in preventing and defusing major risks. The "14th Five-Year Plan for the Safety Production of Hazardous Chemicals" issued by the Ministry of Emergency Management proposes that by 2025, the mechanisms, systems and laws for preventing and defusing major safety risks of hazardous chemicals will be continuously improved. By 2035, a sound and clear responsibility system for the safety production of hazardous chemicals will be established and fully implemented, and major safety risks will be effectively prevented and controlled, etc.
This meeting pointed out that we must always remain vigilant about the safety of hazardous chemicals, adhere to the principle of putting people and life first, and prioritize safety, prevention and comprehensive governance. We should establish a dual prevention mechanism of safety risk classification control and hidden danger investigation and management, and strengthen safety management throughout the entire process of production, storage, use, operation and transportation. It is necessary to strengthen the primary responsibility of enterprises, implement the regulatory responsibility of the government, enhance cross-departmental and cross-regional joint law enforcement, and resolutely prevent and curb the occurrence of major and especially serious accidents.
Chemical plant equipment is related to the intrinsic safety level of the industry. At present, some chemical plants and equipment built in the last century in our country have been in operation for a relatively long time, and their safety guarantee capabilities have declined. Coupled with incomplete monitoring and control facilities and insufficient safety distances, safety risks and hidden dangers have accumulated and entered a concentrated exposure period. In response, the Ministry of Emergency Management and three other departments jointly issued the "Work Plan for the Elimination, Exit and Upgrading of Old Chemical Facilities".
This meeting also proposed that efforts should be made to strengthen the source governance of hazardous chemicals safety, enhance the professional skills of practitioners, make good use of the large-scale equipment renewal policy, accelerate the elimination and renovation of old chemical facilities, and minimize safety risks to the greatest extent.
It is learned that the three-year action plan for addressing the root causes of work safety, which was fully launched this year, has made specific arrangements for the safety of hazardous chemicals. Since September, the Ministry of Emergency Management has successively dispatched multiple working groups to key enterprises such as major hazard sources of hazardous chemicals to verify the quality and effectiveness of the implementation of key tasks in the three-year action plan for addressing the root causes of chemical and hazardous chemicals safety production in various regions and relevant enterprises.