Construction Projects involving Dangerous Chemicals
China’s Safety Regulations on Construction Projects Involving Dangerous Chemicals 危险化学品建设项目安全监督管理办法 (草案) came into force on December 1, 2011 (the “Project Safety Regulations”) on the heel of other regulations aimed at improving safe handling and storage of dangerous chemicals earlier in the year.
Pre-existing regulations, such as the Implementing Measures for the Safety Permits for Manufacturing Enterprises of Hazardous Chemical Products (危化品生产企业安全许可证实施办法) established a broad legal framework for the dangerous chemicals industry but the Project Safety Regulations introduced further refinements. The changes include:
- The scope of facilities covered by these and other dangerous chemicals safety regulations has been expanded to include any that involve manufacturing or storage of dangerous chemicals;
- Requiring all construction projects of facilities used for manufacturing or storage of dangerous chemicals to obtain safety use permits.
- Extending the scope of dangerous chemical safety regulations to cover construction of all long distance pipelines used for transporting dangerous chemicals.
The Project Safety Regulations also streamline safety examination procedures and process for obtaining safety permits for handling dangerous chemicals. Anyone designing a facility to be used for manufacturing or storing dangerous chemicals must ensure that the design complies with two pre-existing regulations, the Administration Guidelines on Chemical Industry Construction Projects Safety Design (AQ/T 3033) (化工建设项目安全设计管理导则) and the Guidelines on Safety Design Chapter of Chemicals Construction Projects (危险化学品建设项目安全设计专篇编制导则). These guidelines require designs to include a separate chapter addressing safety with respect to dangerous chemicals, stipulate the content of that chapter and dictate that it must be prepared prior to commencing detailed design plans.
According to the Project Safety Regulations, the usual timeframe for carrying out safety consultation and safety examination on these projects will be 45 days and the safety design examination process will involve a further 45 days. However, the Project Safety Regulations authorize the provincial level of Work Safety supervisory and administrative authorities to relax safety examination requirements in situations involving construction of small-scale projects and for projects listed in Article 18 of the Project Safety Regulations. This fast-tracking will allow projects to comply and proceed with construction more quickly.
Companies that are currently planning or already engaged in construction of manufacturing or storage facilities for dangerous chemicals need to familiarize themselves and comply with the Project Safety Regulations and with other implementing regulations expected to be issued in the near future.