Implementation Opinions of the ** Office of Nantong City, Jiangsu Province on Further Strengthening the Safety Management of Hazardous Chemicals

To the people’s governments of all counties (cities) and districts, the Management Committee of the city’s economic and technological development zone, as well as relevant municipal departments and agencies: In order to effectively strengthen the management of safe production of hazardous chemicals in our city, in accordance with the “Notice of the State Council on Further Strengthening Enterprise Safety Production Work” (Guo Fa [2010] No. 23), the “Implementation Opinions on Enterprises Handling Hazardous Chemicals Regarding the Notice of the State Council on Further Strengthening Enterprise Safety Production Work” issued by the State Administration of Work Safety and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (An Jian Zong Guan San [2010] No. 186), and the “Notice from the Provincial Government Office Transmitting the Provincial Work Safety Bureau’s Implementation Opinions on Further Strengthening Safe Production of Hazardous Chemicals” (Su Zheng Ban Fa [2009] No. 49), and taking into account the actual conditions of our city, the following implementation opinions are put forward: 1. Strengthen planning guidance, carry out thorough rectification efforts, and improve the overall level of supervision over chemical enterprises. (1) Plan the safe development of the chemical industry in a rational manner. When formulating and implementing the 12th Five-Year Plan, localities should, in accordance with the principles of “industrial agglomeration, intensive utilization, circular economy, and ensuring safety”, scientifically and rationally plan and adjust the layout of chemical industrial parks, and designate specific areas for the production and storage of hazardous chemicals. Chemical industrial parks should establish a comprehensive integrated emergency management system, along with appropriate safety supervision agencies, emergency firefighting forces, emergency supply reserves, and institutions for the prevention and control of occupational diseases. Chemical industrial parks undergo safety assessments every three years, and the reports on these assessments are filed with the local authorities and the municipal work safety supervision bureau. (II) Continue to promote chemical enterprises to enter industrial parks and zones. The municipality has included the relocation of chemical enterprises into industrial parks and zones as a key component of its annual performance evaluation of counties (cities) and district governments (administrative committees). It aims to ensure that, within three to five years, most chemical enterprises outside these parks and zones are relocated therein. Newly established chemical enterprises (projects) must be located in chemical industrial parks; non-chemical enterprises (projects) are not permitted to enter such parks. Chemical industrial parks should be given priority for the relocation of local chemical enterprises. The entry threshold will be gradually raised, from the current level of no less than 30 million yuan (inclusive) to 50 million yuan (inclusive) in 2012. Local authorities should develop corresponding economic support policies to encourage chemical enterprises of a certain scale with market potential to relocate to these industrial parks as soon as possible. For those enterprises that fail to relocate according to the plan, their development should be restricted through measures such as stricter bank lending conditions and higher insurance premiums for work-related injuries. (3) Intensify the rectification and upgrading of chemical enterprises. All regions must strictly implement the \"Nantong Chemical Industry Guidance Catalogue,\" guiding and encouraging enterprises with similar products or those that are part of the same upstream and downstream industrial chains to integrate and optimize themselves, while promoting mergers and acquisitions among large-scale and competitive chemical enterprises with high levels of interconnection. It is necessary to seize the current favorable opportunity for transforming the economic development mode and adjusting the industrial structure. Backward chemical technologies, processes, and equipment that fail to meet relevant safety standards, have poor safety safeguards, or pose serious occupational hazards must be explicitly prohibited from use and compulsorily phased out. Legal measures must be taken to resolutely shut down five types of chemical enterprises: those that do not conform to Nantong’s industrial development plan; those involving obsolete or prohibited projects and processes; those with serious safety hazards that cannot be rectified; those whose pollutant emissions fail to meet the “Emission Standards for Major Water Pollutants in the Chemical Industry” or whose environmental protection facilities are inadequate or malfunctioning; and those that emit foul-smelling pollutants or irritating gases near residential areas, as well as those that have been the subject of prolonged public complaints and petitions with no immediate resolution, and those located within the first-level protection zones of centralized drinking water sources. For enterprises that are ordered to shut down but subsequently resume production without authorization, authorities at all levels must organize departments such as public security, supervision, environmental protection, work safety supervision, quality supervision, and industry and commerce to legally enforce their closure, and hold the relevant responsible persons accountable. (4) Strictly enforce the entry conditions for chemical enterprises (projects). Establish a joint review system for the approval of hazardous chemicals enterprises (projects), led by the investment management department and with the participation of regulatory departments such as those responsible for safety and environmental protection. In the future, the establishment of chemical enterprises (projects) that produce substances capable of causing cancer, birth defects, or mutations, those that generate foul odors, cyanides, liquid chlorine, phosgene, or other substances that cause severe environmental pollution, as well as enterprises (projects) that produce chemicals under monitoring categories 1, 2, and 3, will not be approved. The establishment of new enterprises (projects) for producing highly toxic chemicals will also be restricted. For newly established chemical enterprises, the one-time fixed-asset investment amount (excluding land costs; the same applies hereinafter) should, in principle, be at least 100 million yuan. When implemented in phases, the first phase must involve an investment of no less than 100 million yuan; for enterprises falling under the category of encouraged projects, this figure must be no less than 50 million yuan. (5) Strengthen the safety management of chemical enterprises (projects). For new projects, as well as renovation/expansion projects with an investment of 30 million yuan or more, and chemical enterprises (projects) involving hazardous processes, they should in principle be designed by chemical design firms with Class A qualifications ； The design agency shall incorporate safety technologies and safety facilities into the preliminary design. New chemical plants that operate under high temperature, high pressure, or involve flammable, explosive materials, as well as those that use hazardous processes, should be equipped with automated safety control systems. Large-scale and highly dangerous chemical plants should be fitted with emergency shutdown systems. Large plants and those using hazardous processes must undergo HAZOP analysis after the preliminary design is completed. Before the construction project is completed and put into trial production, the project owner must organize the design, construction, supervision teams, as well as relevant engineering technicians to carry out the \"three inspections and four determinations\" (three inspections: checking for omissions in the design, checking the quality of the work, and identifying potential hazards in the project) ； Four fixings: fixing tasks, personnel, time, and corrective measures). After introducing chemical materials (including nitrogen, steam, etc.) during the commissioning process, the company must take overall coordination of safety and bear full responsibility for it. Conduct the acceptance of safety facilities for construction projects in accordance with the law, including the operation status of safety facilities and automated safety control systems. (VI) Effectively strengthen the supervision of administrative licensing. In strict accordance with relevant laws and regulations, carefully examine the safety production and operational conditions of hazardous chemicals enterprises to ensure proper access to safety production activities. In cases where, after the completion and acceptance of new (renovated or expanded) projects, the relevant licenses are not obtained in a timely manner as required, where the work safety (operational) license expires without being renewed promptly, or in situations involving the first application for a hazardous chemicals operation license (Type A) or facilities for storage, the safety supervision authorities shall organize experts to conduct on-site inspections during the review process. Mobile pressure vessels and gas cylinder filling units must obtain permission from the provincial special equipment safety supervision and management department before they can engage in filling activities. (7) Strictly implement the hazardous chemical registration system. Units that produce, store, or use hazardous chemicals shall carry out a thorough inventory of such chemicals and register them with the provincial safety regulatory authorities in accordance with the law. Hazardous chemical manufacturers must provide users with the “one book and one label” for hazardous chemicals (safety data sheet and safety label). II. Consolidate the safety foundation, strengthen vocational training, and fully implement the enterprise’s primary responsibility for safety. (8) Thoroughly carry out the identification and rectification of potential accident hazards. Chemical enterprises must establish and improve systems for identifying, addressing, and monitoring potential accident hazards, covering everyone from the key responsible persons to all employees. They should hire experts and put in place an expert inspection system, integrating the identification and resolution of potential accident hazards into daily safety management. It is necessary to establish a system for identifying hazardous factors and conducting risk assessments of production processes and equipment. Risk assessment methods such as HAZOP should be utilized actively; safety production risk assessments should be carried out on a monthly basis, and comprehensive identifications of hazardous factors should be conducted regularly to thoroughly identify potential accident risks within the organization. For the identified potential accident hazards, timely rectification must be carried out in accordance with the requirement of \"five aspects being in place\": responsibility for rectification, measures to be taken, funding allocated, time limits set, and contingency plans prepared. For major potential accident hazards, an evaluation of the effectiveness of the rectification efforts should be conducted by professionals in safety production, to ensure that the rectifications are properly carried out. Establish a system for reporting potential accident hazards and offering rewards for such reports, in order to motivate and encourage employees to identify and eliminate these hazards promptly ； Serious potential accident hazards must be reported in a timely manner as required. (IX) Actively promote the development of enterprise safety standardization. Chemical enterprises should incorporate safety standardization efforts into their safety management plans and performance evaluation systems, carefully identify the issues related to safe production within the company, and establish a comprehensive safety production standardization framework. It is necessary to improve the enforcement of various rules and regulations in order to eliminate unauthorized commands and illegal operations. Chemical manufacturers that produce highly toxic chemicals or flammable and explosive substances, as well as chemical enterprises involved in 15 types of hazardous processes such as nitration and chlorination, as well as those with major hazard sources, must meet the requirements for safety standardization at the municipal (level 3) or higher by the end of 2011. Comprehensive efforts should be made to achieve \"post compliance\" and \"professional competency\"; by the end of 2011, all production teams in chemical enterprises must meet the standards of \"safe and compliant teams\". Organize chemical industry enterprises to carry out activities where employees work while holding the “three cards” (knowledge card, notification card, and emergency card), so that workers become familiar with the potential hazards associated with their positions and proficiently master safe production operating procedures and emergency response measures. (10) Strengthen safety management during the production process. Chemical enterprises should conduct comprehensive risk analyses prior to operations, taking into account the characteristics of production processes, project construction, inspection and maintenance, and other related activities, and implement appropriate preventive and control measures to eliminate or reduce operational risks. It is necessary to establish a work permit system to strictly manage hazardous operations such as hot work, entry into confined spaces, excavation work, temporary electrical work, working at heights, road closure work, lifting operations, blind flange removal and installation, and equipment inspection and maintenance. Designated personnel should be assigned to oversee these activities. The job permit approver or their authorized personnel must possess basic first aid skills and the ability to handle emergencies at the work site. Strengthen the management of contractors responsible for engineering construction, inspection, repair, and maintenance; review their safety operating procedures; and conduct full-process supervision of their operations. (11) Give top priority to managing safety training and education. Chemical enterprises must conduct at least one safety training assessment for all employees each year, and the results of these assessments are recorded in the employees’ training records. Mandatory safety training and education must be provided to newly hired employees (including temporary workers, contract workers, labor dispatch workers, rotational workers, agreement-based workers, etc.). For employees who have changed roles or been away from their posts for more than one year, safety training at the workshop and team levels must be provided, and they may only resume working after passing the assessments. It is necessary to earnestly organize and implement training to ensure that personnel in hazardous positions meet the required professional standards; those who do not meet these requirements shall not be allowed to take up their posts. Newly established enterprises must complete the recruitment of all management and operational personnel at least 6 months prior to the commissioning of the equipment, and these personnel may commence work only after passing safety training assessments. Before new processes, new equipment, new materials, and new products are put into use, specialized training and education must be provided to the operators and relevant personnel in accordance with the new operating procedures; those who fail the assessments are not allowed to take up their posts. (12) Attach great importance to the occupational health management of enterprise employees. Chemical enterprises should improve their occupational health management systems, define the occupational health management agencies and their responsibilities, and install alarm and flushing facilities in areas where acute occupational injuries may occur, as required by regulations. Strengthen occupational health training and health monitoring for workers, as well as the provision and management of personal protective equipment; establish occupational health examination records for workers prior to starting work, during employment, and upon leaving the job. Ensure adequate funding for the prevention and control of occupational hazards, improve protective facilities against such hazards, carry out testing, evaluation, and mitigation of occupational hazard factors, and submit reports on these hazards in order to effectively protect workers’ occupational health. (13) Further implement the work safety responsibility system for enterprises. The principal persons in charge of chemical enterprises must earnestly fulfill their duties as the primary responsible persons for work safety, organize production and business operations in accordance with the law, and report on their performance regarding work safety to the local work safety regulatory authorities by the end of February and August each year. Enterprises must establish and strengthen safety management organizations as required, and assign full-time safety managers; the number of such managers should be no less than 2% of the total number of employees in the enterprise (enterprises with fewer than 50 employees must have at least one such manager) ； Safety management personnel must have an associate degree or higher in a chemical engineering or related safety field, at least 2 years of experience in work related to chemical production, and hold the corresponding qualification certificates. It is necessary to promptly obtain and implement the laws, regulations, and standards related to safe production that are applicable to the enterprise. The safety production responsibility system, safety production rules and regulations, and safety operating procedures should be reviewed and revised at least once every three years. Significant changes in production processes, product types, or production locations must be addressed with corresponding revisions. A system for leading officials to be on duty at night and during holidays should be established and strictly enforced. In the event of accidents or incidents with significant consequences such as fires, explosions, or leaks, reports must be made in a timely manner in accordance with relevant regulations, and the results of the investigations and handling must be reported to the local authorities and relevant departments. Tasks such as the start-up and shutdown of production facilities involving hazardous processes, the inspection and maintenance of key equipment, and the demolition of obsolete facilities must be reported to the local safety supervision authorities in a timely manner. It is necessary to establish inspection, supervision, and assessment mechanisms along with reward and punishment systems to ensure the effective implementation of the work safety responsibility system. III. Strengthen key supervision, promote safety technologies, and strive to enhance the intrinsic safety of chemical enterprises. (14) Strengthen risk control over the technological processes in chemical enterprises. In accordance with the requirements of the \"Guidelines for the Implementation of Process Safety Management in Chemical Enterprises\" (AQ/T3034-2010), process safety management must be strengthened comprehensively. To guide enterprises in establishing sound risk management systems, it is necessary to conduct systematic risk analyses of the manufacturing processes in terms of technology, equipment, instruments, control systems, and emergency response measures, thereby enhancing the ability to identify potential risks in chemical production facilities. When adopting new materials, new equipment, new processes, and new methods, it is necessary to follow the change procedures of application, safety assessment and approval, implementation, and acceptance, as well as to analyze and control the risks arising during the change process. The newly developed production processes for hazardous chemicals must be gradually scaled up from pilot tests, pilot plant trials to industrial production. For newly constructed chemical plants, as well as those undergoing renovation or expansion with an investment of 30 million yuan or more and involving hazardous processes, a HAZOP analysis must be conducted after the completion of the preliminary design. An assessment of the safety integrity level of the instrumentation system should also be carried out. Safe and reliable instruments and interlock control systems must be selected, and necessary toxic/harmful substance and combustible gas leak detection and alarm systems, as well as fire alarm systems, must be installed to enhance the overall safety and reliability of the plant. (15) Promote scientific and technological progress in the safe production of hazardous chemicals. Formulate and improve incentive policies, accelerate the development of a technical support system for safe production, and guide and promote hazardous chemicals enterprises to adjust their structures, achieve industrial upgrading, and make technological progress. Safety supervision departments should encourage enterprises that meet the requirements to apply hazard and operability analysis techniques, urge them to adopt new processes and technologies, and improve the level of automated control in production facilities by installing distributed control and emergency shutdown systems. Guide enterprises in formulating maintenance procedures for automatic control and emergency shutdown systems related to hazardous processes, strengthen maintenance efforts, and ensure the normal operation of the equipment. Since 2011, whether production facilities involving hazardous processes are equipped with automatic control and emergency shutdown systems has been stipulated as a requirement for the renewal (or reissuance) of work safety permits. The science and technology department should give priority to approving and supporting research projects on safe production that meet the relevant criteria. (16) Strengthen the guarantee for investment in the safe production of hazardous chemicals. Units engaged in the production and operation of hazardous chemicals must withdraw safety funds on time and in full, maintain separate accounts for these funds, and allocate them for purposes within the prescribed scope. Any unspent balance at the end of the year shall be carried over to the following year. Should the amount of safety funds allocated during a given year prove insufficient, the excess expenses must be recorded through normal cost and expense channels. Financial and work safety regulatory authorities must strengthen their supervision over the withdrawal and utilization of such safety funds. The risk deposit must be paid strictly in accordance with regulations; it is to be used exclusively for emergency response, disaster relief, and post-incident handling related to production safety accidents within the enterprise ； Those who have purchased work safety liability insurance do not need to pay a risk deposit anymore. Strictly enforce regulations on work-related injury insurance, urge enterprises to participate in such insurance in accordance with the law, and ensure that adequate insurance premiums are paid for employees in a timely manner ； Explore linking safety production conditions to work-related injury insurance premiums, and encourage enterprises engaged in the production and operation of hazardous chemicals to purchase personal accident insurance and safety production liability insurance. The financial authorities should allocate a safety production fund to support the dissemination and application of advanced safety technologies, as well as to encourage enterprises to address major safety hazards. Tax authorities shall, in accordance with regulations, implement tax preferential policies for land used for the safety prevention of various hazardous chemicals. (17) Strengthen the safety supervision of key hazard sources and transmission pipelines. Entities that handle hazardous chemicals must regularly carry out tasks such as identifying, inspecting, and evaluating hazard sources. They should establish comprehensive safety management systems for major hazard sources, assign responsibilities for their management, maintain records related to these hazard sources, strengthen monitoring of them, and ensure proper documentation of such hazards ； Safety warning signs and safety information boards regarding hazardous substances shall be placed in a prominent location at the site of major hazard sources. Information such as the potential consequences of accidents at these sites and emergency measures shall be communicated to surrounding units and relevant personnel. All regions should strengthen the safety supervision of major hazard sources involving hazardous chemicals, establish and improve records of hazardous chemical pipelines within their jurisdictions, and carry out targeted rectification efforts to address issues such as illegal constructions encroaching on underground hazardous chemical pipelines and insufficient safety distances ； For pipelines transporting hazardous chemicals that run through public areas, it is necessary to improve signage, clarify management responsibilities, conduct regular inspections, and establish and implement a regular inspection system. No new pipelines for transporting hazardous chemicals shall be constructed through areas with dense populations. (18) Regulate the use of hazardous chemicals and the disposal of waste. Units that use hazardous chemicals such as liquid chlorine and liquid ammonia must establish comprehensive safety management regulations and emergency response plans, obtain the necessary permits in accordance with the law, and conduct regular safety assessments of their storage facilities. Public security authorities should strengthen oversight of the flow of highly toxic chemicals, and urge relevant enterprises to implement public safety management measures in the areas of purchase, storage, and use, in order to prevent accidental loss of such chemicals. Pesticide regulatory authorities should strengthen oversight of rodenticide manufacturers to prevent the use of highly toxic chemicals in the production of such drugs. Environmental protection authorities should promptly identify the entities responsible for the disposal of hazardous chemical waste, and guide and urge enterprises to take effective measures to dispose of such waste properly, so as to avoid any potential hazards. (19) Strengthen the supervision of safety in the transportation of hazardous chemicals. All regions must strengthen joint supervision over the road and water transport of hazardous chemicals. Taking into account the characteristics of multimodal transport of such chemicals by road and water as well as cross-administrative transportation, they should establish and improve mechanisms for joint law enforcement by agencies such as public security, transportation, maritime affairs, environmental protection, quality supervision, and work safety, as well as inter-regional coordination mechanisms. Strict controls should be imposed on the qualifications of transportation companies, drivers, crew members, loading/unloading personnel, and escorts, and any illegal or irregular transportation of hazardous chemicals or related transportation accidents must be thoroughly investigated and dealt with. Transportation and maritime authorities should strengthen the dynamic monitoring of ships used for the water transport of hazardous chemicals, while port management agencies should urge port operators to increase investment in relevant safety facilities and monitoring equipment, thereby expanding the area under surveillance. Further improve the information management system for the road transport of hazardous chemicals, ensure proper integration with the provincial safety monitoring platform for such transport, and expand the scope of information sharing and coordination. All special vehicles used for transporting hazardous chemicals by road must be equipped with satellite positioning devices that have function for recording driving data by the end of 2011. During the installation of tankers for hazardous chemicals, the use of metal universal piping filling systems should be promoted as a replacement for filling hoses; the use of hoses for filling liquid chlorine, liquid ammonia, liquefied petroleum gas, liquefied natural gas, and other liquefied hazardous chemicals is prohibited. All regions should establish bases for addressing overloading of hazardous chemicals, safety hazards, and the unloading of accident-stricken vehicles along the main roads used for transporting such chemicals. IV. Strengthen organizational leadership, enhance emergency response capabilities, and promote the implementation of long-term mechanisms for work safety. (20) Strengthen comprehensive coordination in work safety management. All regions should, from the perspective of maintaining social stability, ensuring the physical and mental health of the people, and building a harmonious society, strengthen leadership over the safe production of hazardous chemicals. They should incorporate the safe production of such chemicals into their regional economic and social development plans, regularly discuss matters related to its safe production, and coordinate efforts to resolve any major issues that arise in this area. The city has established a joint meeting system for the supervision of hazardous chemicals safety, to regularly analyze the situation regarding the safe production of such chemicals, coordinate efforts among relevant departments, and work together to create a cohesive approach to handling these issues ； The relevant municipal departments shall, in accordance with legal provisions, further clarify and implement the responsibilities for the safety supervision of hazardous chemicals ； Safety supervision departments should establish a hierarchical consultation mechanism for the safe production of chemical enterprises, urge the main responsible persons of these enterprises to fulfill their safety responsibilities, take effective measures to address existing problems promptly, and continuously improve the level of safety management. (21) Strictly hold accountable those responsible for work safety accidents and illegal acts. All regions should step up the pursuit of accountability against the responsible persons of enterprises involved in safety accidents related to hazardous chemicals, and those who violate criminal laws shall be held criminally liable in accordance with the law. Enterprises that experience death accidents of a serious nature or worse shall be ordered to suspend operations for rectification in accordance with the law; those with severe circumstances will have their safety production licenses temporarily withheld, while those with especially severe circumstances will have their safety production licenses revoked. For enterprises that experience a major accident or two or more relatively serious accidents within a year, the construction and expansion of hazardous chemicals projects shall be prohibited for one year. The system for preparing investigation reports on hazardous chemical accidents must be strictly implemented; safety supervision departments in various regions are required to submit to the higher-level safety supervision authorities, by the end of January each year, the investigation reports on hazardous chemical accidents that resulted in deaths in their respective regions during the previous year, along with the corresponding approval documents. It is necessary to intensify efforts in investigating and punishing illegal acts. In accordance with the law, strictly investigate such violations as constructing projects without approval, operating or producing without a license, unauthorizedly prototyping new products, or renting out production equipment and facilities to unqualified parties for the illegal production or prototyping of hazardous chemicals; as well as the unauthorized establishment of storage facilities, excessive sampling or storage. (22) Strengthen the construction of emergency rescue capabilities for hazardous chemical accidents. Local authorities should formulate emergency rescue plans for accidents involving hazardous chemicals, based on the types, quantities, and characteristics of such chemicals present in their respective regions. In specialized areas for hazardous chemicals, large enterprises should establish professional emergency response teams, carry out specialized training and drills for emergency responses, with a focus on improving the ability to identify and monitor major hazards in the area as well as to control accidents. Units engaged in the handling of hazardous chemicals must also formulate emergency response plans, establish rescue teams, and equip themselves with necessary equipment and materials. Gradually establish a coordination mechanism between small and medium-sized hazardous chemicals enterprises and the local emergency management departments, emergency rescue agencies, as well as large chemical companies. Through various means such as signing emergency rescue agreements, ensure that emergency responses are carried out in a timely and effective manner. Efforts must be made to strengthen the capacity for emergency response to accidents involving the road and water transport of hazardous chemicals; by the end of 2011, safety risk assessments of the main road transportation routes and water transportation routes for hazardous chemicals across the city must be completed. (23) Strengthen the development of the workforce for the safety supervision of hazardous chemicals. Local authorities should, in light of the number and distribution of hazardous chemical handling enterprises, assign appropriate safety supervision professionals and technical equipment ； It is necessary to strengthen professional training in order to improve the capabilities of personnel responsible for the safe supervision of hazardous chemicals, as well as their ability to administer affairs in accordance with the law and their law enforcement skills. Establish a comprehensive expert database for the safe production of hazardous chemicals and implement an expert consultation system. Implement the safety management committee model in chemical enterprises, encourage industry associations to participate in the safety management of hazardous chemicals, and assist in guiding enterprises to strengthen their basic safety management. Insurance (broking) companies are encouraged to hire qualified intermediary agencies or organize chemical safety experts at the municipal level or above to conduct at least one on-site inspection of work safety in insured enterprises each year, with the results of such inspections to be filed with the local work safety supervision department. January 17, 2011