CodeofOccupationalDiseasePreventionofPRC.doc

Code of Occupational Disease Prevention of PRC
(FOR REFERENCE ONLY)
No. 60 Order by President of PRC
The Code of Occupational Disease Prevention of PRC, adopted in the 24th Session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth People’s Congress on October 27, 2001, is now promulgated for enforcement from May 1, 2002.
Jiang Zemin, President of PRC
October 27, 2001
Code of Occupational Disease Prevention of PRC
(Adopted in the 24th Session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth People’s Congress on October 27, 2001)

Content
Chapter 1 General
Article 1 This Code is enacted in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution in a bid to prevent, control and eradicate occupational diseases, prevent occupational diseases, protect the health and the rights of laborers and boost economic development.
Article 2 This Code applies to the occupational-disease-prevention activities within the territory of PRC.
“Occupational disease” hereunder refers to the diseases incurred to the laborers of enterprises, institutions and private business units (hereinafter referred to as “Employer”) resulted from contacting with powder dust, radioactive substances, other poisonous and harmful substances in the work.
The public heath authorities and the labor & social security authority under the State Council ( will enact, adjust and promulgate the categories and catalogs of occupational diseases.
Article 3 The prevention of occupational diseases should follow the guideline of prevention first and prevention & treatment combination, and stand to the categorized management and comprehensive treatment.
Article 4 Laborers are entitled to occupational health and occupation protection in accordance with the applicable laws.
The Employer shall create the workplace and conditions in compliance with the state occupational-health standard and requirement, and take appropriate measures to ensure occupational health and occupational protection.
Article 5 The Employer shall put into practice the well-structured responsibility system for occupational disease prevention, strengthen the management on the occupational disease prevention, elevate the level of occupational disease prevention and be liable for the in-house occupational diseases.
Article 6 The Employer shall effect the policy covering the work-related injuries according to applicable laws.
The labor and social security authority under the State Council and county-above people’s governments should strengthen the supervision and management of the social security covering work-related injuries in an effort to guarantee laborers’ legal right of work-related injury insurance.
Article 7 Chinese Government encourages the research, development, popularization and application of the new technology, process and material beneficial to the prevention of occupation disease and the health of laborers, encourages the fundamental research on the causes and rules of occupational diseases, supports the advancement of occupational-disease-prevention technologies, advocates effective utilization of technology, process and material facilitating occupational disease prevention, and restricts or prohibits the use of technology, process and material severely impairing occupational health.
Article 8 Chinese Government shall enforce the policy for occupational health supervision.
The public health authority under the State Council is responsible for the supervision and administration of the nationwide prevention of occupational diseases. The competent authorities under the State Council shall be responsible for the supervision and administration of occupational disease prevention according to their respective administrative duties.
The public health authorities under the county-above people’s governments are responsible for the supervision and administration of the occupational disease prevention within their jurisdiction. Competent authorities under the county-above people’s governments shall be responsible for the supervision and administration of occupational disease prevention according to their respective administrative duties.
Article 9 The State Council and the county-above people’s governments should map out the plans for occupational disease prevention that are woven into the national socioeconomic development plan, and should be responsible for the enforcement of the above plans.
The township-level people’s governments should rigidly enforce this Code and support the public health authorities to perform their duties according to applicable laws.
Article 10 The public health authorities under county-above people’s governments and other competent authorities should boost the public awareness and education in occupational disease prevention, publicize the knowledge for occupational disease prevention, boost the Employer’s awareness of occupational disease prevention and the laborers’ awareness of the health protection.
Article 11 The public health authority under the State Council shall work out and promulgate the state standard of occupation health for the purpose of preventing against occupational diseases.
Article 12 Any organization and individual are entitled to impeach and accuse any practices in violation of this Code. Reward will be given to the organizations and individuals for their outstanding achievement in occupational disease prevention.
Chapter 2 Proactive prevention
Article 13 The occupational-disease-inductive Employer should adhere to the stipulations of laws and regulations with regard to the set-up of organizations and create the workplace up to the following occupational health requirements:
13.1 The intensity or concentration of the occupational-disease-inductive substances should comply with the national standard of occupational health;
13.2 Adoption of appropriate occupational-disease-prevention facilities;
13.3 Rational production layout in compliance with the principle of separating harmful from harmless operations;
13.4 Deployment of associated sanitations like dressing room, bathhouse and the rest room for the pregnant;
13.5 The equipment, tools and appliances should comply with the requirement for protecting the well being of laborers;
13.6 Laws, regulations and other regulations protecting laborers’ health stipulated by the public health authority under the State Council.
Article 14 The public health authorities shall establish the procedure for the Employer to declare the occupational-disease-inductive businesses and operations.
The Employer engaged in the occupational-disease-inductive business that tends to give rise to the occupational diseases included in the state checklist of occupational diseases should declare to the competent public health authorities and accept their supervision.
The specific measures for the declaration in connection therewith are to be worked out by the public health authority under the State Council.
Article 15 For any new/expansion/modification projects, technical modification projects and technology introduction project (hereinafter referred to as “Construction Project”) that has high occupational disease exposure, the responsible organizations should, in the feasibility study phase, submit the report for pre-assessment of occupational-health harm to the competent public health authority, which, within thirty (30) days after the receipt of the report stated hereinabove, shall notify the said organization the written decision thereof. It is not allowed to approve any Construction Project that has not submitted the above pre-assessment report or has suffered the denial of the pre-assessment report by the competent public health authority.
The pre-assessment report of occupation-health harm shall indicate the Construction Project’s occupational-disease-inductive factor, its influence on the workplace and laborer health, and determine the type of harm and prevention measures against the occupational diseases.
The catalogs of occupational diseases and the categorized administrative measures for the Construction Project are to be worked out by the public health authority under the State Council.
Article 16 The expense of the occupational-disease-prevention facilities for any Construction Project shall be counted into the engineering budget of the Construction Project, and the occupational-disease-prevention facilities should be designed, engineered and put into operation concurrently with the main body of the project.
It is not allowed to start any Construction Project with very high occupational disease exposure unless the competent public health authority has certified that the Construction Project complies with the state standard and requirement on occupational health.
The undertaking organization should carry out the assessment of the occupational-disease-prevention measures before the final acceptance of the Construction Project. No Construction Project shall be put into operation without having its occupational-disease-prevention facilities accepted by the public health authority upon the acceptance of the Construction Project.
Article 17 The pre-assessment of the occupational-disease-inductive factors and the assessment of occupational-disease-prevention measures should be undertaken by occupational-health technical service organizations approved by the public health authorities under province-above people’s governments. The assessment organization should make objective and impartial assessment.
Article 18 Chinese Government will exercise special administrative measures to the radioactive and highly poisonous operations. The specific measures are to be enacted by the State Council.
Chapter 3 Prevention and Management of Occupational Diseases in the Work
Article 19 The Employer shall take the following measures for prevention and management of occupational diseases.
19.1 Set up or appoint the occupational health management organizations or agencies staffed with full-time or part-time medical professionals for the in-house occupational disease prevention;
19.2 Provide for the occupational-disease-prevention plan and the enforcement plan;
19.3 Establish/improve the occupational health management system and operating rules;
19.4 Establish/maintain occupational health archives and laborer health records;
19.5 Establish/improve the system for supervision and assessment of the workplace occupational-disease-inductive factors;
19.6 Establish/improve contingency plan for occupational-disease-inductive accidents.
Article 20 The Employer should deploy effective occupational-disease-prevention facilities and provide the laborers with the individual-used occupational-disease-prevention articles.
Any occupational-disease-prevention article provided to the laborer by the Employer should comply with the applicable regulations of occupational disease prevention. It is not allowed to use any occupational-disease-prevention article failing the applicable regulations.
Article 21 The Employer should give priority to the new technologies, new processes and new materials beneficial to the occupational disease prevention and the laborers’ health in place of the occupational-disease-inductive technologies, processes and materials step by step.
Article 22 The occupational-disease-inductive Employer shall publicize the regulations, operating rules, contingency measures upon occupational-disease-inductive accidents and the testing results of the workplace occupational-disease-inductive factors in the conspicuous bulletin board.
It is also required to post conspicuous warning mark and the warning message in Chinese at the workplace severely harming the occupational health. The warning message should indicate the type, aftereffect, prevention and contingency measures of the occupational-disease-inductive factors.
Article 23 At the poisonous and harmful workplace prone to contingent occupational injuries, the Employer is required to install alarm units, on-site first-aid articles rinsing facility, emergency exit and necessary risk-elimination area.
For radioactive workplace and the transportation and storage of radioactive isotope, the Employer should equip risk-prevention equipment and alarm devices, and ensure the employees exposed to radiation equipped with dose meter.
The Employer should make regular maintenance, overhaul and test of the occupational-disease-prevention equipment, first-aid facilities and individual-used occupational-disease-prevention articles to ensure their smooth operation. It is not allowed to remove or stop the above occupational-disease-prevention facilities without the approval of competent authorities.
Article 24 The Employer should appoint respective employee to make routine supervision over occupational-disease-inductive factors and ensure the normal operation of the monitoring systems.
The Employer should make regular test and assessment on the occupational-disease-inductive factors in the workplace according to the regulation of the public health authority under the State Council. The assessment result shall be logged into the Employer’s occupational health archive for regular submission to local public-health authority and for release to the laborers.
The test and assessment of occupational-disease-inductive factors should be undertaken by occupational-health technical service organizations who are approved by the public health authorities under province-above people’s governments. The assessing organization should be objective and justified in the test and assessment.
In the event that the occupational-disease-inductive factors in the workplace fail to comply with the national standard and requirement of occupational health, the Employer should take immediate countermeasures, which, if failing to eradicate the problem, should necessitate immediate discontinuation of the operation concerned. The discontinued operation should not be restored unless the occupational-disease-inductive factor is accredited consistent with the national standard and requirement of occupational health.
Article 25 Any occupational-disease-inductive equipment supplied to the Employer shall be accompanied with a user manual in Chinese as well as the conspicuous warning mark and warning message in Chinese. The warning message should indicate the performance, the occupational-disease-inductive factors, precautions for safe operation and maintenance, occupational disease prevention and contingency measures, etc.
Article 26 The occupational-disease-inductive chemical, radioactive isotope and radioactive substances supplied to the Employer should be accompanied with the users instructions in Chinese that indicate the product characteristics, major ingredients, harmful factors and possible aftereffect, safety precautions, occupational prevention and contingency measures, etc. The package should bear the conspicuous warning mark and warning message in Chinese. The storage place of the above substances should be