Stricter safety supervision and environmental regulations in Shandong are driving industry reforms to promote the standardization and improvement of the chemical industry market
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Accelerated reforms in Shandong Province’s chemical industry: 1. The Provincial Work Safety Supervision Bureau reported at a meeting of the provincial people’s congress that more than 1,000 chemical enterprises were shut down across the province this year, while 125 hazardous chemicals enterprises were relocated to designated industrial parks； 2. The Provincial Environmental Inspection Corps announced the results of its investigation into environmental issues in enterprises producing propylene oxide via the chlorohydrin process, and imposed penalties on those enterprises with such issues ； 3. Five action plans, including the \"Special Treatment Plan for Volatile Organic Compounds in Key Industries in Shandong Province\", were issued, calling for further strengthening the prevention and control of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in key industries. Safety supervision and environmental protection measures in Shandong are becoming stricter; the region accounts for around 13% of the country’s total chemical production capacity. Shandong is a major province in the chemical industry. According to incomplete statistics, its production capacity for key chemical products such as fertilizers, pesticides, polymers, coal chemicals, chemical fibers, chlor-alkali products, fluorine-based chemicals, rubber, coating chemicals, and feed additives accounts for about 13% of the total national capacity. Safety supervision and environmental protection measures in Shandong are becoming stricter. According to a document issued on September 14 by the Office for the Transformation and Upgrading of the Chemical Industry in Shandong Province, there are 9,472 enterprises in the 17 cities of Shandong that need to carry out rectification efforts. These efforts are required to be completed between June 2016 and December 2017, with further rectification actions planned to continue until the end of 2018. Industry reforms are driving the standardized improvement of the chemical industry market in Shandong. At the end of 2015, the \"Opinions of the General Office of the People’s Government of Shandong Province on Strengthening Safety, Environmental Protection, and Energy Conservation Measures to Accelerate the Transformation and Upgrading of the Province’s Chemical Industry\" called for efforts to eliminate illegal activities and rectify potential hazards in the chemical industry over the next three years. Since the beginning of this year, Shandong Province has shut down 1,000 enterprises for rectification, and is currently rectifying more than 2,500 others. At the same time, it is taking active measures such as tightening the approval process for chemical projects and encouraging chemical enterprises to locate in designated industrial zones, all of which contribute to promoting the standardized development of the chemical industry in Shandong Province, improving safety standards and environmental protection capabilities, enhancing energy-saving efforts, and accelerating the transformation and upgrading of the industry. Supply-side reforms are accelerating, benefiting high-quality leading enterprises in the industry. The reforms in the chemical industry in Shandong Province, a major chemical-producing region, demonstrate that the supply-side reforms in China’s chemical industry will continue to advance in the future. As chemical enterprises in Shandong Province shut down or undergo restructuring, excess supplies of related chemical products as well as outdated production capacities will be removed from the market. This is expected to improve the supply-demand balance in the industry, lead to higher product prices, and further increase industry concentration. Such trends will help leading enterprises expand their market share and enhance their bargaining power and profitability.
Some chemical plants in Shandong are truly a scourge to the region, especially those small ones. They lack proper safety facilities, and even when such facilities do exist, they aren’t used properly. The environmental protection measures are inadequate, and these plants operate again as soon as inspections are over. In recent years, Shandong has implemented a system of three ratings and one assessment for the transformation and upgrading of its chemical industry; there was a lot of publicity around this, but the actual implementation is far from perfect. Although it seems that many plants have been shut down, many of them were already not in operation or were ‘zombie’ enterprises. There are still many small chemical plants that do not meet safety and environmental standards, and even some large chemical companies fall into this category. I hope that more plants will be shut down, so as to create a strong emphasis on safety and environmental protection, forcing company owners to take these issues seriously. Then, it will be easier for us who work in the field of safety and environmental protection to carry out our duties.
This is also a factor contributing to frequent accidents. It is reported that 1,000 of them are to be shut down, and the remaining ones are also to be located in industrial parks
As for the official statements, to put it bluntly, they are just fantasies. They say that once a company enters the industrial park, it can stay there – but that’s not something that can be decided simply with a few words. The current economic situation is severe; it’s already good enough if some chemical companies can continue operating. Where would they get the money to relocate? The costs of relocation are equivalent to those of building new facilities. Only small companies will consider relocating; large companies that are already located within chemical parks won’t move. As for those located in urban areas, they’re required to reduce production. In fact, risks still exist. If there’s no determination to take drastic measures in this campaign to rectify the issues in the chemical industry, then the real situation won’t change – it’s just a matter of deceiving oneself and the public.
The consequences of years of extensive economic development now must be borne. Shandong faces a severe environmental situation, with water scarcity in particular posing a serious constraint on development.
Good news: it’s raining in Shandong today
The news is positive； Safety and environmental protection are essential ； The economy needs to develop ； Benefits, environmental protection, quality, and schedule are interrelated issues that need to be considered comprehensively for healthy development.