China unveils regulations on emergency response to production safety incidents

The State Council on March 1 released a decree signed by Premier Li Keqiang that includes regulations on emergency response to production safety incidents, which was passed at the State Council executive meeting on Dec 5 and will take effect on April 1.

The regulations were formulated in accordance with China’s laws on safe production and emergency response.

The State Council will lead the emergency response for work safety accidents nationwide, and governments above county level will lead the work in their administrative regions, according to the decree.

Emergency response departments at governments above county level and other safe production regulators are required to fulfill their supervision and management duties.

Production and business units should strengthen their emergency preparedness for production safety accidents, and build a better accountability system on work safety.

According to the decree, governments above county level and safe production departments should identify and assess possible risks of work safety accidents, create precaution plans and make them public.

Also, production and business units should identify and assess possible risks of their production, take precautions and disclose the emergency plans to their employees.

Emergency response departments at governments above county level should submit the emergency rescue plans to local governments for filing, and these departments, as well as related bureaus under county level, should carry out an emergency response drill every two years.

In addition, units doing business concerning hazardous goods, mining and metallurgy, urban rails, building construction, and in densely populated places should organize an emergency response drill twice a year.