The Ministry of Emergency Management defines the scope of fine chemical enterprises! Draft for Comments: Interpretation of the “Four Zeroes” Goals in Fine Chemicals

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The “four zeroes” goal for the rectification of fine chemical enterprises refers to: eliminating risks associated with reaction safety assessments, completing the renovation of automated control systems, ensuring that all employees meet the required educational and qualification standards, and carrying out renovations in areas with high concentrations of people. This is one of the objectives of the three-year action plan for improving the safety of hazardous chemicals, as well as part of the national efforts to address safety risks related to hazardous chemicals. It is also an important component of the special initiatives aimed at restructuring the hazardous chemicals industry. On August 16, 2022, the First Department for Hazardous Chemicals Supervision under the Ministry of Emergency Management issued a letter seeking opinions on the \"Draft Interpretation of the ‘Four Zeroes’ Goals for the Fine Chemicals Industry\". Appendix: Explanation of the “Four Zeroes” Goals in the Fine Chemicals Sector (Draft for Comment) I. Which enterprises fall under the category of fine chemical enterprises? According to Article 2.0.1 of Chapter 2 on Terminology in the “Fire Protection Design Standards for Fine Chemical Enterprises” (GB51283-2020), a fine chemical enterprise is a factory that uses primary or secondary chemicals produced by the basic chemical industry, as well as biomass materials, as starting materials, and carries out further processing to produce fine chemical products with specific functions and uses, produced in small batches, in various varieties, with high added value, and requiring high levels of technical expertise. In light of the actual conditions regarding the safe production of chemicals and hazardous substances, the enterprises subject to the \"four zeroes\" requirement in the fine chemical industry include those listed under the \"National Economic Industry Classification\" (GB/T 4754-2017), specifically: \"2631. Manufacture of chemical pesticides, 2641. Manufacture of coatings, 2645. Manufacture of dyes, 2661. Manufacture of chemical reagents and additives, 2662. Manufacture of special chemical products, 2663. Manufacture of forest chemical products, 2666. Manufacture of chemicals and materials for environmental pollution control, 2669. Manufacture of other special chemical products, 2684. Manufacture of fragrances and flavorings, 2710. Manufacture of chemical drug raw materials.\" II. What are the specific requirements for the “four zeroes” in the fine chemical industry? According to the \"Three-Year Action Plan for the Special Rectification of Hazardous Chemicals Safety\" issued by the State Council’s Safety Committee, the \"four zeroes\" in the fine chemical industry refer to eliminating risks associated with reaction safety assessments, completing the transformation of automation control equipment, ensuring that all employees meet the required educational and qualification standards, and carrying out renovations in areas with high concentrations of people. (1) Reset of the reaction safety risk assessment. In addition to the fine chemical production processes that are included in the scope of risk assessment for reaction safety and require evaluation, specific requirements are also set for fine chemical production facilities involved in nitration, chlorination, fluorination, diazotization, and peroxidation processes. First, it is necessary to complete a reaction safety risk assessment of the entire production process for the relevant products by the end of 2021 ； Second, conduct thermal stability tests on the relevant raw materials, intermediate products, products, and by-products ； Third, conduct risk assessments for unit operations such as distillation, drying, and storage. Among these, it is crucial to strengthen the application of the results from reaction safety risk assessments in the fine chemical industry. For processes for which such assessments have already been conducted, it is necessary to install appropriate safety facilities based on the level of reaction risk and the recommendations resulting from the assessments, to improve safety control measures, to review and revise safety operating procedures promptly, and to ensure that equipment and facilities meet the safety requirements of the processes involved. If fine chemical enterprises fail to implement the recommended assessment measures for their production facilities, they must suspend operations for rectification by the end of 2022. (II) Reset of the transformation of automated control equipment. First, for production facilities and storage installations that fall under the category of “two key areas and one major item,” the utilization rate of emergency shut-off devices and automated control system equipment must reach 100%; those that have not achieved this level or are not in use must cease operations for rectification. Second, by the end of 2022, all upstream and downstream supporting equipment related to nitration, chlorination, fluorination, diazotization, and peroxidation processes must be equipped with automated control systems. The goal of this requirement is to minimize the number of people in high-risk work areas. (III) Eliminate those whose educational qualifications and professional standards do not meet the requirements. Primarily targeting enterprises with production facilities and storage installations related to the \"two key areas and one major item,\" as of April 2020, the following personnel must first meet the required standards. First, for enterprises involving \"two key areas and one major item\" of production facilities and storage installations, the newly appointed chief executives, as well as those in charge of production, equipment, technology, and safety, as well as safety management personnel, must have a college degree or above in related fields such as chemistry or chemical engineering, or hold an intermediate or higher professional title in the chemical industry. Secondly, operators of production units and storage facilities involving major hazard sources and chemical processes that are under strict supervision must have a high school education or above, or possess an intermediate or higher level of vocational education in the field of chemistry. Third, operators of production facilities and storage installations involving chemicals with explosive hazards must possess an associate degree or higher in chemical engineering. Existing personnel who do not meet the above requirements should reach the corresponding standard by the end of 2022. (IV) Achieve a \"zero\" status in the relocation and renovation of crowded places. It mainly refers to production facilities involving chemicals with explosive hazards, production facilities with Class A and B fire hazards, as well as factories (including facilities or workshops) and warehouses with Class A and B fire hazards, dust explosion hazards, and poisoning hazards. The facilities subject to relocation and renovation include control rooms, shift change rooms, offices, rest rooms, outdoor operation rooms, and inspection rooms. First, the control rooms and shift change rooms for production facilities that handle chemicals with explosive hazards must not be located within the facility area; those that have already been built and put into use must be rectified by the end of 2020. Secondly, control rooms and shift change rooms for production units involving Class A and B fire hazards should, in principle, not be located within the unit area. If it is necessary to locate them there, anti-explosion design, construction, and reinforcement must be carried out in accordance with the \"Code for Anti-Explosion Design of Petrochemical Control Rooms\" (GB50779-2012), and this must be completed by the end of 2020. Third, offices, rest rooms, outdoor operation rooms, and inspection rooms located in factories (including installations or workshops) and warehouses that pose risks of Class A or B fires, dust explosions, or poisoning must be demolished by August 2020. III. Do all fine chemical enterprises need to carry out the “four zeroes”? All fine chemical enterprises should conduct self-inspections in accordance with the requirements of the “four zeroes”; those that fall within the scope of enterprises or individuals specified for rectification under these requirements must carry out the necessary rectifications to meet the standards. For other fine chemical enterprises that are not covered by the specific rectification measures outlined under the \"four zeros\" policy, it is encouraged to carry out such actions on the basis of a comprehensive assessment of safety risks; there is no mandatory requirement. IV. The Issue of “Zeroing Out” Reaction Safety Risk Assessments (I) Which fine chemical enterprises need to conduct reaction safety risk assessments? Currently, there are two regulatory documents that set clear requirements for such assessments: the “Guiding Opinions on Strengthening Reaction Safety Risk Assessment Work in the Fine Chemical Industry” (An Jian Zong Guan San [2017] No. 1) and the “Three-Year Action Plan for Special Rectification of Hazardous Chemicals Safety” (An Wei [2020] No. 3). These documents specify two situations in which reaction safety risk assessments are necessary. First, according to Article 2 of the “Guiding Opinions on Strengthening Reaction Safety Risk Assessment Work in the Fine Chemical Industry”, reaction safety risk assessments are required for batch and semi-batch reactions in enterprises that involve highly regulated hazardous chemical processes as well as metal-organic synthesis reactions (including Grignard reactions). Such assessments are necessary in any of the following circumstances: 1. When a new process or formula is used for industrial production for the first time in China, or when a new process introduced from abroad has not yet undergone a reaction safety assessment ； 2. Changes occur in the existing process route, process parameters, or plant capacity, and there is no reaction safety risk assessment report ； 3. Accidents involving production safety have occurred due to issues with the reaction process. Second, the scope of reaction safety risk assessment required under the Three-Year Action Plan for Special Rectification of Hazardous Chemicals Safety includes: 1. Reaction safety risk assessment across the entire production process for nitration, chlorination, fluorination, diazotization, and peroxidation processes ； 2. Conduct thermal stability tests on raw materials, intermediates, products, and by-products related to nitration, chlorination, fluorination, diazotization, and peroxidation processes ； 3. Conduct risk assessments for unit operations such as distillation, drying, and storage in nitration, chlorination, fluorination, diazotization, and peroxidation processes. (II) Regarding the statement that “existing fine chemical production facilities involved in nitration, chlorination, fluorination, diazotization, and peroxidation processes must complete a reaction safety risk assessment for the entire production process of relevant products by the end of 2021”, what exactly is meant by “entire process”? If the various steps of the process are not carried out in the same workshop, does it still remain necessary to conduct a reaction safety risk assessment for those steps that take place in another workshop outside the main facility? The “Three-Year Action Plan for the Special Rectification of Hazardous Chemicals Safety” (Anwei [2020] No. 3) mentions “entire process” on two occasions: one is “promoting full-automatic control of production facilities involving hazardous chemical processes that are under strict supervision”, and the other is “existing fine chemical production facilities involved in nitration, chlorination, fluorination, diazotization, and peroxidation processes must complete a reaction safety risk assessment for the entire production process of relevant products by the end of 2021”. In both cases, “entire process” refers to the whole sequence of operations, from the input of raw materials into the production process until the final product is obtained, including raw material preprocessing, sequential chemical reactions, product separation, and purification. Regardless of how many workshops a chemical is distributed across, a reaction safety risk assessment should be conducted. (III) Why is it necessary to conduct thermal stability tests on relevant raw materials, intermediate products, products, and by-products, as well as to carry out safety risk assessments for unit operations such as distillation, drying, and storage, for existing fine chemical production facilities that involve nitration, chlorination, fluorination, diazotization, and peroxidation processes? What safety risks are primarily assessed in the safety risk evaluation of unit operations such as distillation, drying, and storage? The main safety risks in fine chemical production stem from the thermal risks associated with the chemical reactions. The safety risk assessment of fine chemical reactions involves conducting thermal stability tests on the chemicals involved in the reaction, such as raw materials, intermediates, and products, as well as carrying out thermodynamic and kinetic analyses of the chemical reaction process. Raw materials, intermediates, products, and by-products may be thermally sensitive during use or production, and can decompose as a result of rising temperatures. It is therefore necessary to test their thermal stability in order to determine their onset decomposition temperature and the amount of heat released during decomposition. The distillation process is a method for purifying substances; if such a substance is heat-sensitive, it is likely to decompose during distillation, leading to fires or explosions ； The drying process requires consideration of both the risk associated with the thermosensitivity of the materials and the risk of dust explosions, as dust is generated during this process. When mixed with air, it can explode in the presence of ignition sources such as static electricity. It is also necessary to carefully evaluate parameters such as the minimum ignition energy of dust clouds, the minimum ignition temperature of dust clouds, the minimum ignition temperature of dust layers, the severity of explosions, the lower explosion limit of dust clouds, and the limiting oxygen concentration for dust clouds. If the stored chemicals are heat-sensitive, they pose a risk of releasing heat upon decomposition, which can lead to fires and explosions. It is important to evaluate the SADT of such substances under their current packaging conditions – that is, the highest allowable environmental temperature at which a reactive chemical substance in a given packaging material and size can still be used safely. This value represents the lowest environmental temperature at which the reactive chemical substance in the actual packaged product will start to decompose spontaneously within 7 days. If the storage temperature exceeds the SADT, there is a risk of fires or explosions. (IV) What qualifications or conditions are required of institutions that conduct safety risk assessments for fine chemical reactions? According to the \"Guiding Opinions on Strengthening Safety Risk Assessments for Fine Chemical Reactions\" (An Jian Zong Guan San [2017] No. 1) and the \"Guidelines for Safety Risk Prevention and Control in Hazardous Chemical Production and Construction Projects (Trial Version)\\", such institutions must possess the status of a CNAS-accredited laboratory as well as a CMA-accredited laboratory. They also need to have the necessary technical expertise in process engineering, chemical engineering, thermal safety, and thermodynamics, along with the appropriate experimental capabilities. This ensures that relevant equipment and testing methods are regularly calibrated and verified, thereby guaranteeing the accuracy of the test data. In terms of research equipment, a unit responsible for reaction safety risk assessment should be equipped with at least differential scanning calorimeters, rapid screening calorimeters, adiabatic acceleration calorimeters, low-heat inertia adiabatic acceleration calorimeters, microcalorimeters, constant-pressure reaction calorimeters, high-pressure reaction calorimeters, moisture analyzers, high-performance liquid chromatographs, and gas chromatographs. In terms of personnel, there should be professionals capable of operating the relevant research equipment, analyzing and evaluating the results, and preparing reports on reactive safety risk assessment. V. Issues Related to the “Reset” of Automation Control Equipment (I) How should the term “upstream and downstream supporting equipment” be understood in the requirement that “by the end of 2022, all equipment associated with nitration, chlorination, fluorination, diazotization, and peroxidation processes must be equipped with automation control systems”? The upstream and downstream supporting equipment for these processes refers to various production devices and storage facilities that are directly connected to the reactors used for nitration, chlorination, fluorination, diazotization, and peroxidation reactions. This includes storage tanks, silos, and mixing vessels that supply raw materials to the reaction reactors upstream, as well as units downstream that are responsible for purifying or refining the products. Furthermore, in production lines involving multi-step reactions, the reaction vessels that are directly connected to nitration, chlorination, fluorination, diazotization, and peroxidation process units through pipelines also constitute upstream and downstream supporting equipment. The requirement that upstream and downstream supporting equipment must be automated stems from the fact that nitration, chlorination, fluorination, diazotization, and peroxidation processes are prone to accidents due to uncontrolled reactions. Moreover, the order in which upstream materials are added, as well as their quantity and addition rate, have a significant impact on the reaction rate; human errors can easily lead to uncontrolled reactions ； Secondly, the reaction products of the above five processes often pose significant safety risks, and the subsequent reactions or purification steps also involve high levels of danger. While it is only necessary to automate the process equipment itself, if the automation level of the supporting equipment upstream and downstream is low, there will be a large number of workers on site, which greatly increases the risk of catastrophic accidents resulting in many deaths and injuries. Therefore, with the aim of preventing and controlling major safety risks, the upstream and downstream supporting equipment associated with nitration, chlorination, fluorination, diazotization, and peroxidation processes must be equipped with automated control systems to reduce the number of workers on site. (II) Does full-process automation cover those parts that are not operated frequently, such as catalysts that are used once and then last for a month? Should there be differences in the approach to automation transformation for large chemical enterprises versus small and micro enterprises? Should there be differences in the automated control methods for batch high-risk processes and continuous high-risk processes? Does achieving remote control equate to achieving automation? Full-process automation refers to the automated control of the entire process, from the input of raw materials into production until the output of the final product, with the goal of minimizing the number of people present at the workplace. For process operations with high reaction safety risks, automation control requirements must be implemented, regardless of whether such operations are carried out frequently or not, regardless of the size of the enterprise, and regardless of whether the process is batch or continuous. Achieving remote control to minimize the number of people in the workplace is equivalent to meeting the requirements for automation. VI. The issue of eliminating those whose educational qualifications do not meet the standards among employees (1) Regarding the requirement that “the newly appointed chief executives, as well as those in charge of production, equipment, technology, and safety, as well as safety management personnel, must have an associate degree or higher in related fields such as chemistry, chemical engineering, or safety, or possess an intermediate or higher professional title in the field of chemical engineering,” who are considered to be the chief executives? Can a chief executive also hold positions in charge of production, equipment, technology, and safety? The Interpretation of the Work Safety Law specifies that for limited liability companies and joint stock companies, the chief executives should be the company’s chairman and manager (general manager, CEO, or other person who actually performs managerial duties) ； For enterprises that are not corporate entities, the main persons in charge are the plant directors, managers, mine supervisors, and other top administrative officials of the enterprise, as well as other individuals who exercise actual control over the production and operation activities. In large chemical enterprises, there are usually dedicated managers in charge of production, equipment, technology, and safety. However, in smaller and medium-sized enterprises, the number of management personnel is relatively limited; in such cases, the main manager may also take on the responsibilities related to production, equipment, technology, and safety, but this should be specified in the company’s safety management regulations or other relevant documents. (II) Regarding the requirement that \"operators of production units and storage facilities involving major hazard sources or chemical processes under strict supervision must have a high school education or above, or possess vocational education in the chemical field at the secondary level or above\", do the personnel responsible for loading and unloading chemicals from storage tanks fall under the category of storage facility operators? Do warehouse workers and forklift operators count as storage facility operators? Personnel involved in the loading and unloading of chemicals stored in tanks that represent major hazard sources (excluding intermediate storage tanks) also belong to the category of storage facility operators, and they as well must have a high school education or above, or possess vocational education in the chemical field at the secondary level or above. Porters and forklift operators in chemical warehouses that involve major hazard sources generally do not need to operate the storage facilities, and are therefore not considered as operators of such facilities. (III) Has the \"Guidelines for Ensuring that Key Personnel in Hazardous Chemicals Enterprises Meet Safety Qualification Requirements (Trial)\\" been issued and put into effect? If the employees of an enterprise meet the professional and educational requirements specified in Part 3, \"Transitional Policies and Compliance Management\", is it still necessary for them to improve their educational qualifications? Can those current employees who do not meet the educational requirements but have already received relevant training be considered to meet the requirements, since they will not be able to obtain the required certificates by the end of 2022? The \"Guidelines for Ensuring that Key Personnel in Hazardous Chemicals Enterprises Meet Safety Qualification Requirements (Trial)\\" (Emergency and Hazardous Chemicals Affairs No. 2 [2021]1) has been issued and put into effect. If the employees of an enterprise meet the professional and educational requirements specified in Part 3, \"Transitional Policies and Compliance Management,\" and satisfy all other conditions except those relating to enrollment in programs for improving their professional qualifications, or if existing employees who do not meet the educational requirements have completed relevant education and training programs, they may continue to hold their positions until December 31, 2023. (IV) Can individuals who are currently enrolled in self-study examinations serve as the main responsible persons in the chemical industry? According to the \"Three-Year Action Plan for Special Rectification of Hazardous Chemicals Safety\", enterprises that operate production facilities and storage units related to the \"two key areas and one major hazard\" are required to ensure that their newly appointed main responsible persons, as well as those in charge of production, equipment, technology, and safety, as well as safety management personnel, possess an associate degree or higher in relevant fields such as chemistry, chemical engineering, or safety, or hold an intermediate or higher professional title in these areas. Those who complete self-study examinations at the higher education level and obtain an associate degree or higher in relevant fields can serve as the main responsible persons in chemical enterprises. Current students have not yet obtained the corresponding degree, and therefore do not meet the aforementioned requirements. VII. The issue of achieving a “zero” status in the relocation and renovation of crowded areas (1) Which areas within fine chemical enterprises qualify as crowded areas? Are there any conflicts with the definition of crowded areas given by fire safety regulations? The “crowded areas” referred to in the effort to achieve a “zero” status through relocation and renovation are mainly those areas within the enterprise where there is a relatively high concentration of people, such as control rooms, shift change rooms, offices, rest rooms, outdoor operation areas, and inspection rooms. Article 3.3 of \"Fire Safety Management in Crowded Places\" (GB/T 40248-2021) defines crowded places as indoor areas where people gather, including public gathering places, outpatient and inpatient buildings in hospitals, teaching buildings, libraries, canteens, and dormitories in schools, nursing homes, welfare institutions, daycare centers, kindergartens, reading rooms in public libraries, exhibition halls in public exhibition centers and museums, production and processing workshops in labor-intensive enterprises as well as employee dormitories, and places for tourism and religious activities. The \"crowded areas\" referred to in the effort to achieve \"zero\" in the relocation and renovation of such areas are those within enterprises. The aim is to reduce the number of people in areas within the enterprise where safety risks are high, thereby preventing serious consequences resulting from accidents; this concept is different from that of crowded areas as defined in fire safety management. (II) “The control rooms and shift change rooms for production facilities that involve chemicals with explosive hazards shall not be located within the facility area.” How should the facility area be defined? According to the relevant provisions of the \"Fire Protection Design Code for Petrochemical Enterprises (2018 Edition)\” (GB50160-2008), a \"facility area\" refers to an area composed of one or more independent petrochemical facilities or combined facilities. The boundary of the plant area in fine chemical enterprises can be determined by the line connecting the outermost edges of the individual plants (workshops) or combined plants (workshops). (III) Regarding the statement that “the control rooms and shift change rooms for production facilities handling explosive hazardous chemicals must not be located within the facility area,” what exactly are the chemicals referred to as “explosive hazardous chemicals”? Can outdoor operation rooms and inspection rooms be installed within the facility area where such chemicals are produced? Is it permissible to use rooms that have been reinforced to resist explosions? “Explosive hazardous chemicals” refer to those chemicals listed in the “Hazardous Chemicals Information Classification Table” under the “Hazard Category” of “**, 1.1” in the “Guidelines for the Implementation of the Hazardous Chemicals Catalog (2015 Edition) (Trial Version); there are 85 such chemicals, such as barium azide, ***phenol [dry or aqueous]