18-19 December 2012, China held the annual Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) Compliance Conference in the capital city of Hunan Province, Changsha. The meeting was organized by the national CWS Compliance Office (hereinafter as the “CCO”) set under the Raw Materials Division, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). Over 180 participants from relevant province-level CCOs and concerned companies attended the conference.
The conference introduced China’s recent progress achieved in keeping compliance with the CWC and shed in-depth light on the domestic legislation requirements for the management of Category 2 Monitored and Controlled Chemicals (hereinafter as the “MCC”). Organizers of the meeting assigned the annual notification tasks, including both past and future activities notified in 2012. Opinions were proposed on the meeting to help conduct a public consultation for the draft proposal of the Measures for the Management of Category 2 MCC Distribution and Use. The draft proposal or final version is hoped to be released in 2013, which will indicate more specific management measures for the operation and use of monitored and controlled chemicals.
Category 2 MCCs (see Chemlinked Expert Article: Overview of Hazardous Chemicals Management in China) are 14 types of chemicals that can be used as precursors in the manufacture of chemical weapons, which has been defined under the 1995 Regulations on Monitored and Controlled Chemicals of the People’s Republic of China (State Council Decree 190). The Decree 190 requires strict control on four categories of chemicals associated with the manufacture of chemical weapons. More implementing provisions were enacted in a 1997 Implementation Details on the Decree 190.
Affected companies are obliged to obtain special licenses prior to the production, use, distribution and import & export, etc. of the above four MCC categories. For businesses involved in any MCC production, use or distribution, information or data on the chemicals produced, used or sold as well as the intended use must be reported to the competent authorities at province level, i.e. local CCOs. If involved in any use of Category 1 or 2 MCCs, the concerned companies must still notify the local CCOs of the consumption information of the MCCs used and quantities of the final products.
During the meeting, OCC attendees from Beijing, Jiangsu and Shandong delivered keynote speeches on the practical tips and improvement suggestions for the management of Cat.2 MCCs. Company participants from Hebei, Guangzhou and other districts shared their experience in thorny issues of daily product stewardship, distribution management and receiving on scene inspections from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), etc.
Main inspection items performed by the OPCW generally focus on three key levels of MCCs management, which are production facilities and process technologies, statistics accounts and safety management institutions. During an OPCW inspection carried out on a company in Hebei on 4 - 6 July 2010, the international inspectors reviewed and assessed the company’s production facilities and process technologies, including the “three wastes” treatment, analysis laboratory, repair workshop, raw materials and final product warehouse and the infirmary. The company review accounts include record of raw materials purchased, consumption quantities, etc. Information was inquired on the company’s due certifications like ISO, OHSAS (Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series), ISO14000 (environment), product quality, emergency plan, waste water treatment, and environmental monitoring etc.
