Author: Hao Jun, Vice President Engineer, China Chemical Products Safety Association
To thoroughly learn from major and serious accidents that have occurred in some regions, and to comprehensively strengthen the safe production of hazardous chemicals, and to firmly prevent the occurrence of major and serious accidents, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council's Office jointly issued the "Opinions on Strengthening the Safe Production of Hazardous Chemicals." As a guiding, instructional, and methodological document for the "Fourteenth Five-Year" period in the field of hazardous chemicals, the "Opinions" clearly require addressing the fundamental, root-cause, and bottleneck issues in the field of hazardous chemical safety, as well as risk management, structural adjustment, key areas, safety access, and the disposal of hazardous waste. This will make hazardous chemical safety a key focus and direction for the "Fourteenth Five-Year" period.
The document emphasizes the need to promote the safe production of hazardous chemicals in an orderly manner, and to focus on implementation by addressing key issues.
1. Emphasize the importance of enhancing safety production awareness. The hazardous properties and processes of hazardous chemicals necessitate a commitment to safety as the top priority, with increased emphasis on safety awareness education and promotion. This awareness stems from the understanding of hazardous chemicals by workers, enabling them to identify risks and implement appropriate safety measures effectively. This, in turn, promotes a culture of responsibility and ensures that everyone is accountable for safety.
Two. Focus on identifying and addressing potential risks. Risk management is fundamentally about managing risks. Effective risk management requires accurate risk identification. Risk identification should be based on scientific methods, effective techniques, and a realistic understanding of the situation. Currently, effective risk identification is a key weakness in chemical process safety management. Methods like HAZOP and JSA/JHA are not widely implemented among employees and safety production managers, and companies need to take responsibility for training employees on these methods to ensure effective risk management and the successful implementation of safety production. The document clearly states the need for comprehensive safety risk assessment and hazard management. This should involve specific and detailed assessment standards, targeted safety risk assessments and evaluations for potentially hazardous chemical enterprises, chemical parks, or concentrated chemical areas, as well as for first- and second-level major hazard sources and toxic and hazardous, flammable and explosive chemical enterprises. These assessments should be carried out according to the principles of "one enterprise, one plan" and "one park, one plan," implementing the strictest measures.
Thirdly, focus on improving employee accountability. The fundamental aspect of safe production is people. The key to improving accountability is ensuring that employees understand, can apply, and are proficient in safety procedures. Given that different hazardous materials and processes have different hazards, it is crucial for employees to not only understand the "what" but also the "why" behind safety protocols. This ensures that employees fulfill their safety responsibilities effectively. Focusing on the skills training of employees and management personnel is essential for achieving safety production goals in the "Fourteenth Five-Year Plan." This includes implementing the measures outlined in the "Opinions" by establishing vocational schools (including technical schools) focused on chemical-related industries, creating internship and training bases based on key chemical enterprises, industrial parks, or third-party professional organizations, incorporating chemical process safety management knowledge into the core curriculum of relevant chemical and pharmaceutical-related academic programs, and ensuring the effective implementation of these initiatives.
Fourth, address the issue of enhancing inherent safety standards. Leakage constitutes an accident, and is the root cause of fire, explosion, asphyxiation, poisoning, and burns. Inherent safety originates from design, quality, and operation. The guidelines stipulate the legal elimination of production capacities that do not meet national or industry safety standards. This effectively controls risks. Improve engineering design, construction, and acceptance standards for chemical and hazardous materials. Accelerate the development of technical standards for chemical process safety management and fine chemical reaction safety risk assessment. Encourage leading chemical enterprises to benchmark against national and international standards, and to develop standards that are stricter than national or industry standards. Improve design standards for storage equipment, such as hazardous materials tanks. Research and establish a mandatory monitoring system for pressurized hazardous goods tanks.
Five is addressing the implementation of the safety production responsibility system. The key to successful implementation of the safety production responsibility system is effective execution. Each accident analysis reveals the issue of the responsibility system not being fully implemented. The emphasis should be on accountability and clear assignment of responsibilities. The document emphasizes the importance of implementing the responsibility system through measures such as strengthening legal measures, increasing penalties for non-compliance, and implementing incentive measures to ensure that enterprises take full responsibility.
Six is to address the construction of a social integrity system. Establishing a credit record and strengthening accountability are key priorities for ensuring safe production during the "14th Five-Year Plan." The implementation of the relevant policy focuses on the following three key areas: First, the primary responsible person of the enterprise must fulfill their duties and make a commitment to safety; if they fail to do so and are subject to criminal penalties or dismissal, they will be subject to professional restrictions; Second, the management and technical teams of the enterprise must possess the necessary capabilities and responsibilities; responsibility must be assigned to those who fail to fulfill their duties; Third, those who evade, resist, or violate safety regulations, such as unauthorized command or operation, will be subject to strict accountability.