Regulations on Labor Protection in Workplaces Where Toxic Substances (2024 Revision)

Regulations on Labor Protection in Workplaces Where Toxic Substances (2024 Revision)

Regulations on Labor Protection in Workplaces Where Toxic Substances
(Promulgated by the Order No. 352 of the State Council of the People's Republic of China on May 12, 2002; and revised in accordance with the Decision of the State Council to Amend and Repeal Certain Administrative Regulations on December 6, 2024)

Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 These Regulations are formulated in accordance with the provisions of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases and other relevant laws and administrative regulations for the purposes of ensuring the safe use of toxic substances in workplaces, preventing against, controlling, and eliminating occupational poisoning hazards, and protecting workers' life safety, body health and their relevant rights and interests.
Article 2 These Regulations shall be applicable to labor protection against possible occupational poisoning hazards due to the use of toxic substances in workplaces.
Article 3 Toxic substances are classified into general toxic substances and high toxic substances in light of the extent of occupational poisoning hazards caused by toxic substances. The State exercises special control over the use of high toxic substances in workplaces.
The catalogues of general toxic substances and high toxic substances shall, on the basis of the national standards, be formulated, adjusted and published by the administrative department for public health under the State Council jointly with the departments concerned.
Article 4 An employing unit that engages in the operations in which toxic substances are used (hereinafter referred to as the employing unit) shall use toxic substances that meet the national standards, and shall not use in workplaces the toxic substances that are explicitly prohibited by the State, or that fail to meet the national standards.
An employing unit shall, as possible as it can, use nontoxic substances; where it is required to use toxic substances, low toxic substances shall be selected for use with priority.
Article 5 An employing unit shall, in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations and other relevant laws and administrative regulations, take effective protective measures to prevent the occurrence of occupational poisoning accidents, and buy work injury insurance according to law so as to safeguard workers' life safety and body health.
Article 6 The State encourages the research, development, popularization and application of the new technologies, new techniques and new materials that are beneficial to the prevention, control and elimination of occupational poisoning hazards and to the protection of workers' health, restricts the use of, or obsoletes, the technologies, techniques and materials that may cause serious occupational poisoning hazards, and strengthens the basic research on the mechanism and regular rules for occupational diseases so as to improve the level of science and technology in the prevention and control of occupational diseases.
Article 7 Child laborers shall be prohibited from being employed.
An employing unit shall not assign minors and female employees in pregnancy or lactation to engage in the operations in which toxic substances are used.
Article 8 Trade unions shall urge and assist employing units in the publicity, education and training of occupational health, make proposals and suggestions concerning employing units' occupational health work, and coordinate with and urge the employing units to solve the problems in relation to the prevention and control of occupational diseases that are reported by workers.
Trade unions shall have the right to demand corrections by employing units committing acts of infringing upon workers' legal rights and interests in violation of laws and regulations; in case of serious occupational poisoning hazards, they shall have the right to require the employing units to take protective measures or suggest that the relevant departments of the people's governments take compulsory measures; in case of occupational poisoning accidents, they shall have the right to participate in the investigation and handling of the accidents; under circumstances in which workers' lives and health are jeopardized, they shall have the right to suggest that the employing units should organize the evacuation of the workers from the premises in danger, and the employing units shall immediately take such measures.
Article 9 The health administrative department and disease prevention and control department and other relevant departments of the people's governments at or above the county level shall, in light of their respective functions and responsibilities, supervise employing units' strict compliance of the provisions of these Regulations and other relevant laws and regulations, strengthen the labor protection against the use of toxic substances in workplaces, prevent the occurrence of occupational poisoning accidents, and ensure the rights enjoyed by the workers according to law.
Article 10 The people's governments at all levels shall strengthen the leadership over the occupational health and safety as well as the relevant labor protection in the workplaces where toxic substances are used, urge and support the health administrative department, disease prevention and control department and other relevant administrative departments to fulfill their functions and responsibilities of supervision and inspection according to law, and coordinate the work of solving relevant major problems in time; in case of occupational poisoning accidents, they shall take effective measures to control the spreading of the accidental hazards and eliminate the accidental hazards, and deal with problems arising from the accidents.
Chapter II Preventive Measures in Workplaces
Article 11 The establishment of an employing unit shall meet the conditions provided for in the relevant laws and administrative regulations, the relevant formalities shall be gone through according to law, and the business license shall be obtained.
The employing unit's workplaces where toxic substances are used shall, in addition to the occupational health requirements provided for in the Law on the Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases, also meet the following conditions:
(1)the workplaces must be separated from the living areas, and no person shall reside in the workplaces;
(2)the harmful operations must be separated from the harmless operations, and the workplaces where high toxic substances are used shall be isolated from other workplaces;
(3)effective ventilation facilities shall be installed, and automatic alarm facilities and ventilation facilities for accidents shall be installed in the workplaces in case a large quantity of toxic substances may suddenly leak out or acute poisoning may be easily caused; and
(4)emergency exits for evacuation and necessary hazard-eliminating areas shall be set up in the workplaces where high toxic substances are used.
Article 12 The yellow area-warning lines, warning marks, and warning specifications in Chinese shall be displayed in the workplaces where toxic substances are used. Warning specifications shall indicate varieties and consequences of occupational poisoning hazards and the corresponding preventive measures and emergency measures.
The red area-warning lines, warning marks, and warning specifications in Chinese shall be displayed, and communication and alarm equipment shall be installed in the workplaces where high toxic substances are used.
Article 13 Where a project of new construction, expansion, or reconstruction or a project of technical improvement or technology introduction (collectively referred to as a “construction project”) may cause occupational poisoning hazards, occupational poisoning hazards shall be pre-evaluated in accordance with the provisions of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases. The facilities protecting against occupational poisoning hazards in a construction project that may cause occupational poisoning hazards shall be designed, constructed, and put into production and to use simultaneously with the principal part of the project. Before the as-built acceptance inspection of a construction project, the effects of control of occupational poisoning hazards shall be evaluated. The facilities protecting against occupational poisoning hazards in a construction project may be put into production and to use only after passing the acceptance inspection organized in accordance with the law.
The design of facilities protecting against occupational poisoning hazards in a construction project that may cause occupational poisoning hazards shall conform to the national occupational health standards and health requirements.
Article 14 The employing units shall, in accordance with the provisions of the administrative department for public health under the State Council, promptly and truthfully declare the operation items which involve the occupational poisoning hazards to the administrative departments for public health.
An employing unit that engages in the operations in which high toxic substances are used shall, when declaring operation items with the use of high toxic substances, submit the following materials to the administrative department for public health:
(1)the evaluation report on the effect of control over occupational poisoning hazards;
(2)materials of the occupational health administrative system and operating rules; and
(3)emergency and first-aid pre-scheme against occupational poisoning accidents.
An employing unit that engages in the operations in which high toxic substances are used shall, when it changes varieties of the high toxic substances used, make anew declarations to the administrative department for public health that originally accepted its declarations in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.
Article15 An employing unit which changes its name, legal representative, or person in charge shall make a report thereon for the record to the administrative department for public health that originally accepted its declarations.
Article 16 An employing unit that engages in the operations in which high toxic substances are used shall assign emergency and first-aid personnel and equip itself with necessary emergency and first-aid devices and equipment, formulate emergency and first-aid pre-schemes, revise such pre-schemes in good time according to the practical situations, and organize rehearsals at regular intervals. The emergency and first-aid pre-schemes and rehearsal records shall be reported for the record to the local administrative department for public health, the emergency management department , and the department of public security.
Chapter III Protection in Working Process
Article 17 An employing unit shall, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases, take effective occupational health protection and management measures to strengthen the protection and management for working process.
The employing units that engage in the operations in which high toxic substances are used shall assign the full-time or part-time occupational health doctors and nurses. Where they have no conditions to assign such doctors and nurses, they shall sign contracts with the occupational health and technical service agencies that have obtained qualification certification according to law for the provision of occupational health services.
Article 18 The employing units shall sign labor contracts with their workers, truthfully inform the workers of the possible occupational poisoning hazards in the working process and the corresponding consequences, the safeguards against occupational poisoning hazards and the welfares, and clearly state such information in the labor contracts without any concealment or cheating.
Where the workers change their operating posts or work contents during the term of the labor contracts concluded and engage in the operations involving occupational poisoning hazards that are not specified in the labor contracts, the employing units shall, in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, truthfully inform the workers, and modify the relevant terms and conditions in the original labor contracts through consultation.
Where the employing units violate the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs, their workers shall have the right to refuse to engage in the operations involving occupational poisoning hazards, and consequently the employing units shall not unilaterally dissolve or terminate the labor contracts concluded with the workers.
Article 19 The relevant managing personnel of the employing units shall be familiar with the relevant laws and regulations on prevention and control of occupational diseases, and with the knowledge of ensuring the safe use of toxic substances by the workers in their operations.
The employing units shall provide occupational health training before the workers take up their jobs, and conduct regular occupational health training when the workers are at posts, popularize the relevant occupational health knowledge, supervise and urge the workers to abide by the relevant laws, regulations and operating rules, and guide the workers to correctly use safeguards against occupational health hazards and individual protective appliances against occupational health hazards.
The workers shall not take up their jobs unless they have received the training and passed the examination.
Article 20 The employing units shall guarantee the normal service conditions of the safeguards against occupational health hazards, emergency and first-aid facilities, and communication and alarm facilities, and shall not dismantle them or stop the use of them without authorization.
The employing units shall frequently maintain and overhaul safeguards and facilities as specified in the preceding paragraph, test their performances and effects at regular intervals, and ensure they are in good conditions.
In case that safeguards against occupational health hazards, emergency and first-aid facilities, and communication and alarm facilities are in abnormal conditions, the employing units shall immediately stop the operations in which toxic substances are used. The operations shall not restart unless all the aforesaid equipment and facilities are recovered to work normally.
Article 21 The employing units shall provide protective appliances that meet the national occupational health standards to their workers engaging in the operations in which toxic substances are used, and ensure their workers' correct use of such appliances.
Article 22 Toxic substances shall be attached with the specifications to indicate the true information such as product property, essential ingredients, existing factors of occupational poisoning hazards, possible dangerous consequences, precaution items for safe use, measures to prevent occupational poisoning hazards and the corresponding emergency and first-aid measures. Toxic substances without the specifications or with unqualified specifications shall not be sold to the employing units.
The employing units shall have the right to demand the specifications from units that manufacture or trade in toxic substances.
Article 23 Packages for toxic substances shall meet the national standards, and the safety labels for poisoning articles shall be stuck or fastened thereto in a way easily comprehensible to the workers. Packages for toxic substances shall have conspicuous warning marks and warning specifications in Chinese.
Units that trade in or use toxic substances shall not trade in nor use toxic substances without safety labels, warning marks and warning specifications in Chinese.
Article 24 The employing units shall, when maintaining or overhauling production installations involving the use of high toxic substances, work out maintenance or overhaul scheme in advance to specify protective measures against occupational poisoning hazards, so as to safeguard the maintenance or overhaul staff's life safety and body health.
Maintenance or overhaul of production installations involving the use of high toxic substances shall be in strict accordance with the maintenance or overhaul scheme and the operating rules. There shall be the specialized personnel to supervise the maintenance or overhaul sites, and the corresponding warning marks shall be displayed.
Article 25 Where it is required to enter and conduct operations in equipment, containers, or narrow or closed workplaces with high toxic substances, the employing units shall take the following measures in advance:
(1)to keep the workplaces in good ventilation conditions, and ensure that the concentration of factors of occupational poisoning hazards in the workplaces meet the national occupational health standards;
(2)to provide their workers with protective appliances that meet the national occupational health standards; and
(3)to assign the supervisory personnel and install the first-aid equipment on the spot.
In case that the measures specified in the preceding paragraph are not taken or the measures taken fail to satisfy the requirements, the employing units shall not assign their workers to enter and conduct operations in equipment, containers, or narrow or closed workplaces with high toxic substances.
Article 26 The employing units shall, in accordance with the provisions of the administrative dep......