Provisions on the Safety of Operations in Confined Spaces of Industry and Trade Enterprises

Provisions on the Safety of Operations in Confined Spaces of Industry and Trade Enterprises

Order of the Ministry of Emergency Management of the People's Republic of China

(No. 13)

The Provisions on the Safety of Operations in Confined Spaces of Industry and Trade Enterprises, as deliberated and adopted at the 28th executive meeting of the Ministry of Emergency Management on November 6, 2023, are hereby issued and shall come into force on January 1, 2024.

Minister: Wang Xiangxi

November 29, 2023

Provisions on the Safety of Operations in Confined Spaces of Industry and Trade Enterprises

Article 1 These Provisions are developed in accordance with the Work Safety Law of the People's Republic of China and other applicable laws and regulations for the purposes of ensuring the safety of operations in confined spaces and preventing and reducing work safety incidents.

Article 2 These Provisions shall apply to the safety management and supervision of operations in confined spaces of production and trading entities in metallurgy, nonferrous metal, building materials, machinery, light industry, textiles, tobacco, commerce and trade, and other industries (hereinafter collectively referred to as “industry and trade enterprises”).

Article 3 For the purposes of these Provisions, “confined space” means a closed or partially closed space that is not designed as a fixed workplace where workers may enter to conduct operations and which is likely to cause the accumulation of toxic, hazardous, flammable, and explosive substance or insufficient oxygen content.

For the purposes of these Provisions, “operations in confined spaces” means operations conducted by personnel in confined spaces.

Article 4 The principal person in charge of an industry and trade enterprise shall be the principal person in charge of work safety in confined spaces, organize and develop management rules for work safety in confined spaces, specify the duties of the person in charge of the approval of operations in confined spaces, supervisors, and workers, as well as the requirements for safety training, operation approval, protective supplies, emergency rescue equipment, operating procedures, and emergency disposal.

Article 5 An industry and trade enterprise shall implement rules for the supervision of operations in confined spaces and designate full-time or part-time supervisors to take charge of the implementation of safety measures for operations in confined spaces.

Supervisors shall have the safety knowledge and emergency disposal ability appropriate for the supervision of operations in confined spaces and be able to correctly use supplies and equipment for gas detection, mechanical ventilation, respiratory protection, and emergency rescue, among others.

Article 6 An industry and trade enterprise shall identify confined spaces, establish a confined space management ledger to specify the quantity and location of confined spaces, hazardous factors, and other information, and update such information in a timely manner.

An industry and trade enterprise shall be encouraged to adopt information, digital, and intelligent technologies to enhance the level of safety risk management and control in operations in confined spaces.

Article 7 An industry and trade enterprise shall specify approval requirements according to the degree of safety risks associated with operations in confined spaces.

Any operation in a confined space with the risk of poisoning and asphyxiation by hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, or carbon dioxide, among others, shall be subject to approval by the principal person in charge of the industry and trade enterprise or by another person entrusted thereby in writing, and the relevant liability shall still be borne by the principal person in charge of the industry and trade enterprise upon entrustment.

Operations in confined spaces shall not be carried out without the approval of the person in charge of the approval of operations designated by the industry and trade enterprise.

Article 8 An industry and trade enterprise contracting out operations in confined spaces to any other entity in accordance with the law shall agree on the work safety management duties of each part......