Beijing, China - September 13, 2007
Results in 2007 for the project on the safe management of hazardous chemicals, jointly conducted by China’s State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) and The Dow Chemical Company, have revealed significant progress at fostering and promoting a better understanding and awareness among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from various industries nationwide on the importance of chemical safety management.
As the project continues its second year, participating enterprises have become more aware of issues in safety management and have also learned useful tools and best practices which are aimed to ultimately raise safety standards in China by helping local SMEs prioritize and engage in sustainable practices. The project is also instrumental in designing related regulatory policies and strengthening the collaboration between government authorities and the enterprises.
Sun Huashan, Deputy Director of SAWS said, “The cooperation between Dow and SAWS is based on our mutual aspirations to promote safe production among Chinese chemical enterprises. Through this partnership project, we are committed to enhancing China's small- and medium-sized enterprises in safety management, increasing safety awareness, and promoting safety standardization.”
Jim McIlvenny, President of Dow Asia Pacific & Greater China, said, “Dow is a leader in sustainable development, and this project is a clear demonstration of our commitment to our 2015 Sustainability Goals in China. We sincerely thank SAWS for supporting this project. Through our cooperation with SAWS, we expect to make continued contributions to China's sustainable development in the future.”
SAWS and Dow chose 19 SMEs engaged in either storing or transporting liquid chlorine or liquid ammonia from Shandong, Jiangsu, Hebei and Henan provinces to begin the project in the beginning of 2006. During the first year, there were 18 training sessions delivered to these enterprises, with 2,000 staff trained in hazardous chemicals supervision. The “Chlorine Manual” published by the Chlorine Institute was translated into Chinese, serving as an important reference for implementing chlorine and alkali production safety standardization for China’s enterprises.
In addition, to share best practices as well as enrich practical understanding of production and storing safety of chlorine, Dow sent chlorine and alkali experts with global experience to deliver trainings to Chinese experts, with a particular focus to share emergency and contingency strategies that are used in the United States. As a second step, in November of 2006, a delegation from the pilot enterprises and provincial departments of SAWS was sent to Dow’s companies and plants in the United States and Canada. Key learnings focused on safety management, risk evaluation, transportation safety and emergency reactions.
With the second year of this program officially underway, 15 enterprises were chosen from liquid chlorine and liquid ammonia production and hazardous chemicals transportation industries to carry out the next phase of the project. Currently, the enterprises have received Dow's trainings related to safety management, prevention practices and regulations on hazardous chemical management, and standardized safety methods.
Participating enterprises in chemical production and storing were trained to create a standardized safety management system. Enterprises handling chemical transportation were also trained in applying safety management in transportation of hazardous chemicals.
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For Editorial Information:
Kay Yau
Dow Greater China Media Relations
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