China MIIT to adopt the China GHS Implementation Action Plan as its long-term national guideline for hazardous chemical management
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China (MIIT) is inviting distinguished experts of environment, health and Safety to participate in an official symposium for the preparation of China GHS Implementation Action Plan. The meeting scheduled on 18 April 2012 will be adopted as the long-term national campaign to implement the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) in China, states the ministerial notice today.
According to the invitation letter, the China GHS Implementation Action Plan has already completed the draft version proposed by the Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine (CAIQ) under the aegis of MIIT. Eight officials and engineers from Shandong AQSIQ, CAIQ, the Beijing disease control center, Tsinghua University and other renowned scientific and research agencies are gathered to the Beijing symposium to discuss three subjects regarding the enhancement of the Action Plan, including:
briefing on the content of each chapter and the general principle of the Action Plan;
commentary and review on some specific issues included in the Action Plan;
next step work program for the Action Plan to be initiated by MIIT.
China’s current implementation of the United Nations GHS (2nd edition) has been fully launched with the introduction of a framework regulation on the control over the safety of hazardous chemicals, also known as the State Council Decree No 591, in December 2011. Under this law, associated obligations facing hazardous chemical (HC) enterprises may include the classification, labelling, packaging of hazardous chemicals, hazard communication requirements in the form of SDS, dangerous chemical registration at the NRCC-SAWS, application for HC Safe Use Permit or Safe Production Permit, identification of major hazard installations, and emergency telephone number service, etc.
