What Happened Between the Tianjin 2015 Explosion and Jiangsu 2019?
An explosion at pesticide plant in Jiangsu last Thursday killed at least 78 people and injured hundreds more at an industrial park with a history of rampant and well-documented workplace violations.
The Chenjiagang Chemical Industrial Park, where the explosion occurred, is one of five chemical parks in the area. An NGO-run database of environmental violations shows that 85 different companies in the area received a variety of penalties in recent years.
Between 2014 and 2016, the local Guannan County Environmental Protection Bureau filed 177 non-compliance penalties against chemical companies in the area. The municipal Lianyungang Environmental Protection Bureau filed 22. Violations included the operation of major installations without inspection, excessive discharge, illegal disposal of solid and hazardous waste, and discharge of untreated waste through unpermitted discharge points or channels.
Government statistics show a serious accident risk in the production of hazardous chemicals throughout China. Last year, 223 people died in 176 accidents. In 2017, 271 people died in 218 accidents. NGOs statistics show a higher total number of incidents still: 486 accidents in 2016 alone — more than one per day.
Over the past four years, the Ministry of Emergency Management worked to develop the Hazardous Chemicals Safety Law, a law that was first called for in the official accident report following an August 2015 chemical explosion in Tianjin that killed 173 people.
But so far, no draft has been submitted to the People’s Congress. In February, the ministry announced plans to speed up the process.
The former State Administration of Work Safety, now restructured as the Ministry of Emergency Management, recommended the law to address acute hazards around the production of hazardous chemicals, including increased responsibility for factory owners to prevent accidents and identify and control risk.
The proposed law would bear a higher legal standard than any current regulation, and thus impose greater legal liability than previous regulations. It could have a major impact on preventing further chemical plant disasters.
So where is it?
In September 2017, the first official draft of the law was reviewed. The draft’s language defined clear liability for business owners. Though the low-cost fines outlined in the law were perhaps insufficient to deter violations, oversight was strong and included mechanisms for government, industry, and even public oversight.
Then, the process slowed.
The State Administration of Work Safety underwent restructuring. Its jurisdiction expanded to include disasters like floods and fires, and it was renamed the Ministry of Emergency Management.
Resistance from the chemical industry also ramped up in 2017 and slowed the process. Around this time, the industry also faced an economic downturn, which could have bolstered opposition to environmental or safety regulation.
The September 2017 version is the latest draft of the Hazardous Chemicals Safety Law that has been publicly reviewed. Despite its inclusion in 13th Five-Year Plan, which slots finalization in 2020, it is not included in this year’s official agenda.
The Ministry of Ecology and Environment has also introduced a draft regulation on the production of hazardous and toxic chemicals, which would authorize the ministry to collect information from companies, monitor production and use, conduct risk assessments, and screen priority chemicals to prevent risk.
