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Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Standardization of Work Safety in Enterprises Engaged in Hazardous Chemicals Operations (Draft for Comment) In order to thoroughly implement the requirements set out in the “Decision of the State Council on Further Strengthening Work Safety” (Guo Fa [2004] No. 2) and the “Guiding Opinions of the Office of the State Council’s Work Safety Committee on Further Strengthening Work Safety in the Handling of Hazardous Chemicals” (An Wei Ban [2008] No. 26), to fully carry out the standardization of work safety in enterprises engaged in hazardous chemicals operations, to encourage such enterprises to increase investment in safety measures, improve working conditions for safety, standardize safety management practices, and enhance the level of safety management, so as to achieve a fundamental improvement in the work safety situation in this sector as soon as possible, the following guiding opinions are put forward regarding the strengthening of the standardization of work safety in such enterprises: I. Guiding Principles Guided by the scientific development concept, it is necessary to fully implement the philosophy of safe development, adhere to the principle of “safety first, prevention first, and comprehensive management,” and carry out comprehensive efforts to standardize work safety in enterprises engaged in hazardous chemicals operations. This will help such enterprises take greater responsibility for ensuring work safety, establish long-term mechanisms for ensuring work safety in this field, and promote further stabilization and improvement of the work safety situation. II. Work Objectives The hazardous chemicals-related entities referred to in these guidelines are enterprises that produce, store, or handle hazardous chemicals, enterprises that use highly toxic chemicals, and enterprises that utilize hazardous chemicals in chemical or pharmaceutical production ； Key hazardous chemicals enterprises refer to those engaged in the handling of flammable and explosive substances, highly toxic chemicals, liquid ammonia, as well as hazardous chemicals produced through dangerous manufacturing processes (including chemical pharmaceutical companies). (1) By the end of 2010, key hazardous chemicals enterprises must achieve compliance with safety production standards ； By the end of 2012, key hazardous chemicals enterprises must reach a safety production standardization level of Grade 2 or above, while other types of hazardous chemicals enterprises must achieve compliance with safety production standardization requirements. (II) By comprehensively carrying out work on standardizing safety production in entities dealing with hazardous chemicals, it is possible to urge such entities to strictly comply with relevant laws, regulations, standards, and norms related to safety production. This approach helps to strengthen the foundations of safety production, continuously improve safety conditions and the level of safety management, enhance the intrinsic safety of entities dealing with hazardous chemicals, effectively prevent major or more severe accidents involving hazardous chemicals, and lead to a significant reduction in the overall number of accidents and deaths related to hazardous chemicals across the country. III. Work Tasks: The safety production conditions of entities dealing with hazardous chemicals must first comply with the requirements of China’s current laws, regulations, standards, and norms related to safety production, and such entities must also have obtained the relevant administrative permits for the safe production and handling of hazardous chemicals. On this basis, by carrying out work on standardizing safety production, it is possible to further urge hazardous chemicals enterprises to increase investment in safety production, continuously improve their safety conditions, and gradually achieve intrinsic safety, thereby promoting scientific and standardized management of safety in these enterprises. (1) Standardization of safety production conditions: Based on the technological characteristics of enterprises dealing with hazardous chemicals and the hazardous properties of such chemicals, standard requirements are established for these enterprises in terms of their technological processes, major equipment and facilities, safety facilities (especially safety relief devices and alarms for leaks of flammable and toxic gases), monitoring systems for major hazard sources and critical areas, electrical and instrumentation automation controls as well as emergency shutdown systems, as well as safety measures for utility systems. Once the safety production conditions of enterprises dealing with hazardous chemicals meet these standardized requirements, their inherent safety level should improve significantly, and their ability to prevent accidents should also be enhanced markedly. (II) Standardization of work safety management 1. Improve and strictly enforce the work safety responsibility system. The safety production responsibility system is the core of safety management, and great emphasis should be placed on establishing and implementing such a system within enterprises. Guide and supervise hazardous chemicals enterprises to establish and improve a comprehensive work safety responsibility system that assigns specific responsibilities to each employee, ensuring strict compliance with these duties. In particular, clear requirements should be set for the establishment of safety production responsibility systems by the leadership and management teams of entities dealing with hazardous chemicals, and strict supervision and inspection should be carried out on their implementation. 2. Improve and strictly enforce safety production management rules and regulations. Including processes and operating procedures ； Equipment and instrument automation, electrical safety management system ； Round-robin inspection system, regular inspection system ； Safety operating procedures, especially those related to special tasks such as working with open flames, entering confined spaces, dismantling equipment and pipelines, working at heights, and using temporary electrical power ； Establish and strictly implement a safety monitoring responsibility system for major hazard sources and critical areas. 3. Establish a standardized institutional mechanism for the identification and resolution of potential hazards. Timely identifying and eliminating potential safety hazards in the production process and work environments is an important responsibility for ensuring safe production in enterprises. Hazardous chemicals handling enterprises must establish working mechanisms and systems for identifying and addressing potential hazards, determine the frequency of such inspections, clarify the responsibilities of various departments and individuals, and regularly identify safety hazards in order to eliminate them promptly. 4. Strengthen safety education and skill training for all employees. Regular safety education should be conducted to raise the safety awareness of employees and strengthen their commitment to adhering to safety production management systems. It clearly stipulates the qualifications required for personnel in various positions, and strengthens skill training for them, ensuring that their qualifications and operational skills meet the requirements for safe production. 5. Strengthen the emergency management work of entities dealing with hazardous chemicals. Establish scientific, practical, and targeted emergency plans for work safety that are aligned with those in place at the local level. The stockpiles of emergency equipment, facilities, and supplies must be sufficient to meet the needs of emergency response, and these plans should be continuously improved through regular drills. There may be accident plans related to the surrounding areas and residents, and it is necessary to fully consider the coordination between such plans and those of the nearby organizations. 6. Thoroughly investigate and handle safety accidents and incidents that occur in entities engaged in the handling of hazardous chemicals. Safety accidents and incidents that occur in entities engaged in the handling of hazardous chemicals must be investigated and handled in strict accordance with the principle of \"not letting go until four aspects are addressed.\" The primary task in investigating safety accidents and incidents is to determine the true causes of those accidents. On this basis, improvement measures are formulated to enhance the safety management systems and strengthen safety controls, thereby ensuring that similar accidents do not occur again. We must attach great importance to and earnestly learn from the lessons of safety accidents in similar enterprises. (III) Formulating standards for work safety standardization 1. In the first half of 2009, guidelines, evaluation methods, announcement procedures, supervision mechanisms, and reward/punishment systems for work safety standardization in entities dealing with hazardous chemicals were established to regulate such activities. 2. Establish and improve the standard system for work safety standardization in hazardous chemicals-related enterprises. By the end of 2010, the drafting and formulation of the implementation guidelines for Level 1 safety production standardization for key hazardous chemicals enterprises were completed. 3. At present, most of the existing construction standards for chemical plants in our country are outdated; it is necessary to intensify efforts in formulating safety production standards for chemical enterprises and to standardize the safety production conditions for newly built chemical plants. Safety production standards should be established based on different processes and the hazardous properties of the chemicals involved, in order to raise the requirements for safe operation. Guide existing hazardous chemicals enterprises to carry out technological upgrades for safe production and standardize safety management practices. 4. The formulation of standards for work safety standardization in entities dealing with hazardous chemicals should follow the principles of relying on science and technology, strengthening management, focusing on key aspects, and taking general considerations into account. Relying on technology and strengthening management means that safety production standards should not only clearly specify the safety production requirements for entities dealing with hazardous chemicals, but also explicitly set out the requirements for their safety management ； Focusing on key areas while taking general considerations into account means giving priority to formulating safety production standardization standards for enterprises in high-risk and major industries, and then formulating such standards for those in lower-risk industries and other sectors. 5. **The Supervision Administration will organize relevant entities to formulate standards for work safety standardization in key hazardous chemicals-related enterprises. Provincial work safety supervision departments shall formulate plans for developing guidelines for the implementation of work safety standardization, based on the industry characteristics of hazardous chemical-related enterprises in their respective regions; they shall set standardization requirements for the work safety conditions in those industries where such enterprises are concentrated, in order to accelerate the establishment of a system of standards for work safety standardization in these enterprises. The safety standardization work for hazardous chemicals transportation units may be carried out in accordance with these guiding principles. IV. Working Methods (1) Carry out work on safety production standardization at different levels. The achievement of safety production standardization for entities handling hazardous chemicals is divided into levels 1, 2, and 3. **The General Administration oversees and guides the work related to safety production standardization among hazardous chemicals enterprises across the country; it is responsible for establishing standards for safety production standardization in such enterprises and announcing those that have achieved the first level of safety production standardization. Provincial safety supervision bureaus supervise and guide the work related to work safety standardization in hazardous chemicals enterprises within their respective jurisdictions. They are responsible for formulating implementation guidelines for work safety standardization in level 2 and level 3 hazardous chemicals enterprises, as well as announcing those enterprises that have achieved level 2 work safety standardization. The municipal safety supervision bureaus at the district level are responsible for organizing and implementing the work related to safety production standardization in hazardous chemicals-related enterprises within their respective jurisdictions, and they are also in charge of announcing those enterprises that have achieved the third level of safety production standardization. Hazardous chemicals handling enterprises generally need to have held a Level 2 safety production standardization certificate for 1 year, and must not have experienced any fatal accidents or major leaks, fires, or explosions over 3 consecutive years, before they can apply for an assessment to achieve Level 1 safety production standardization. (II) Guidance, evaluation, and supervision of the standardization of work safety in hazardous chemicals handling enterprises. **The Chemical Registration Center of the General Administration for Market Regulation is responsible for providing consultation and guidance to hazardous chemicals enterprises across the country that wish to apply for certification as Level 1 enterprises in terms of work safety standardization. It is tasked with promoting and implementing the standards related to work safety standardization, maintaining the online software management system for such standardization efforts among hazardous chemicals enterprises nationwide, providing professional guidance to the assessment and consulting agencies involved in this process, organizing training for assessors and self-assessors, and carrying out on-site assessments of enterprises that have achieved Level 1 certification in work safety standardization. The China Safety Production Association is responsible for evaluating enterprises that handle hazardous chemicals for compliance with the first-level standards for safety production; it reviews the on-site assessment reports prepared by the Chemical Registration Center of the General Administration for Supervision, and issues certificates and plaques recognizing such enterprises as meeting the first-level standards for safety production. The agencies responsible for assessing and providing consultation on the standardization of work safety in secondary and tertiary hazardous chemicals handling enterprises are determined by the provincial safety supervision bureaus in accordance with **relevant requirements. (III) Work on standardizing work safety in central state-owned enterprises. 1. Central enterprises with a solid foundation in work safety, which have achieved the first-level standard for work safety through self-assessment and have not experienced any fatal accidents, as well as no major leaks, fires, or explosions over three consecutive years, may apply directly for an evaluation to achieve the first-level standard for work safety, with the approval of the provincial work safety supervision agency in their location. 2. Central state-owned enterprises should conduct Hazard and Operability Studies (HAZOP) on key chemical production facilities in order to enhance their ability to prevent accident risks and effectively improve the intrinsic safety level of these critical production units. (IV) Carry out re-evaluation and certificate renewal work. For enterprises that have achieved Level 1 safety standardization status as hazardous chemicals handling units, the Chemical Registration Center of the **General Administration conducts on-site re-evaluations in accordance with the new standards. The China Safety Production Association then reviews these on-site evaluation reports; enterprises that meet the requirements have their certificates renewed, while those that do not meet the requirements have their certificates revoked and this is made public. V. Work Requirements (1) Safety production standardization is an effective measure for hazardous chemicals enterprises to comply with relevant laws and regulations on safety production such as the Safety Production Law, the Regulations on the Safety Management of Hazardous Chemicals, and the Regulations on Safety Production Licenses. It represents an important way to continuously improve safety production conditions, achieve intrinsic safety, and establish a long-term mechanism for safety production ； It is an effective means for safety regulatory authorities to strengthen supervision and inspection of work safety in hazardous chemicals enterprises, and to guide and assist such enterprises in standardizing work safety management, improving safety management levels, and enhancing work safety conditions. Safety supervision departments at all levels and hazardous chemicals-related enterprises must fully recognize the importance of standardizing safety production in such enterprises, attach great importance to the role that this standardization plays in strengthening the foundational work related to the safe production of hazardous chemicals, and make active efforts to achieve tangible results. (II) Local authorities should conduct policy research tailored to local conditions in order to encourage hazardous chemicals enterprises to take proactive steps toward standardizing safety production practices. Based on local conditions, regions may adopt the practice of considering hazardous chemicals enterprises that have achieved a safety production standard of level 2 or higher as one of the key criteria when evaluating their performance in safety production ； When applying for a renewal or an extension after the expiration of relevant licenses for the safe production or handling of hazardous chemicals, it may not be necessary to conduct a separate safety assessment ； There are incentive measures allowing enterprises to pay the risk deposit at the minimum level specified by local policies. (III) The assessment agencies for the safety production standardization of hazardous chemicals enterprises must establish and improve quality assurance systems, and ensure the proper use as well as timely updating of the guidelines related to the safety production standardization management in such enterprises ； Improve the responsibility system, enforce strict internal management, strengthen the development of the evaluation staff, and enhance their professional competence. By recruiting experienced enterprise safety managers, technical personnel with high professional skills, registered safety engineers, and other specialized experts, and after they complete the necessary training, these individuals can be used to strengthen the team of assessors for the standardization of safety practices in enterprises that handle hazardous chemicals, thereby ensuring the quality of such assessments. (IV) Safety supervision departments at all levels shall formulate work plans for promoting the standardization of work safety in hazardous chemicals-related enterprises in their respective regions, and incorporate such standardization into the local safety supervision plans for hazardous chemicals. Provincial safety supervision bureaus are required to submit, by the end of February each year, reports on the progress of work related to the standardization of safety production in hazardous chemicals-related enterprises in their respective regions for the previous year, along with plans for the current year, to the Third Department of Supervision under the **General Administration of Supervision.