Legislation Promises Tight Restrictions on the Promotion of Harmful Chemicals

Freshened Content:

In Ha Noi, the National Assembly (NA) discussed the draft revised Law on Chemicals on Thursday, with a strong focus on banning the promotion of dangerous chemicals, including online networks.

The session, during the ninth assembly, touched on key issues related to the revised law.

Presenting the report on the law, Chairman of the NA's Committee on Science, Technology and Environment Lê Quang Huy revealed that the draft law encompasses eight chapters and 52 articles after revisions.

Some delegates suggested reviewing regulations on conditions for chemical consulting activities to foster a conducive environment for investment and business.

The NA Standing Committee acknowledges that chemicals are a high-risk field, and chemical consulting activities significantly impact labor safety, human health, and environmental protection.

As a result, organizations and individuals providing consulting services in the chemical domain, including technology design, equipment selection, installation, planning, and chemical incident response measures, require extensive expertise in chemicals, technology, and chemical safety.

Regulations specifying conditions for organizations and individuals providing specialized consulting services in the chemical field and granting certificates to individuals aim to ensure the quality of the consulting process, improve chemical safety work effectiveness, and safeguard project investors' rights.

These regulations also help choose appropriate, safe, effective, and cost-efficient technological and construction solutions, thereby minimizing risks, promoting community safety, and advancing project success.

Therefore, it is recommended to maintain the regulations on specialized chemical consulting as in the draft law. To avoid administrative burdens for consulting businesses, the law assigns the government to set the procedures for granting certificates.

An anticipated development is the application of an online certification system for chemical consulting activities.

Regarding the Chemical Incident Prevention and Response Plan in Article 39, suggestions were made to evaluate the basis and feasibility of the regulations, ensuring smooth and effective implementation in practice and consistency with the Law on Civil Defence, the Law on Environmental Protection, and the Law on Occupational Safety and Hygiene.

Additionally, the Law on Environmental Protection should be examined to integrate the chemical incident response plan and environmental incident response plan.

According to the NA Standing Committee, the Chemical Incident Prevention and Response Plan aligns with the Chemical Law 2007, serves to enhance the chemical incident response capacity of forces, reduce risks of incidents, and minimize chemical consequences.

Moving Forward

Through discussion, delegates agreed that the draft amended Law on Chemicals submitted to the NA represents an important step in establishing a legal basis for chemical management.

To further perfect the draft law, delegates proposed that the drafting agency should ensure consistency with other related laws, such as the Law on Pharmacy, the Law on Corporate Income Tax, the Law on Management and Use of Weapons, Explosives, and Support Tools.

The draft law prohibits various acts like illegal production and trading of chemicals, repairing and counterfeiting licenses, providing false information, and using chemicals of unknown origin.

However, delegate Thạch Phước Bình from Trà Vinh Province pointed out that the online promotion and sale of dangerous chemicals, especially drug precursors, flammable, and explosive chemicals, remains widespread, and these actions are not clearly defined in the prohibited acts.

As a result, he proposed adding a new clause to Article 3 on the prohibition of using digital platforms, social networks, websites, and e-commerce trading floors to illegally advertise, sell, trade, and supply dangerous chemicals.

He also suggested assigning responsibility to the Ministry of Science and Technology to collaborate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Public Security in inspecting and handling violations in the online environment.

Delegate Đoàn Thị Lê An from Cao Bằng Province proposed another prohibited act in the draft law: using toxic chemicals that directly affect plant varieties, the environment, and human health. Since this issue arises frequently with vegetables and fruits, it affects consumer health.

She also advocated for requiring organizations and individuals importing chemicals to classify and label them according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade's regulations, report their findings to competent agencies, halt putting chemicals into use, and refrain from circulating them on the market until completing the information update according to regulations.

Delegate Trần Khánh Thu from Thái Bình Province suggested the drafting committee reconsider special chemicals, banned chemicals, and dangerous chemicals in the research and production testing process.

She also wanted to impose severe penalties in cases of violations that cause unsafety and apply higher penalties for serious violations that cause adverse consequences to human health or the environment or endanger the community.

Besides, she proposed implementing measures for transportation management through electronic invoices, as the draft law currently lacks specificity and has not demonstrated strictness in handling violations.

Delegate Dương Khắc Mai from Đắk Nông Province concurred with the content of the Chemical Incident Prevention and Response Plan.

She proposed keeping it in the draft law to ensure timely and proactive incident response, considering the dynamic and unpredictable nature of situations.

Over the long term, she suggested establishing a comprehensive national strategic solution, along with sufficient resources and advanced technology to prevent chemical and environmental incidents early and at a distance. - VNS

Enrichment Data:

Overall:

The search results do not directly address specific changes regarding the ban on promoting dangerous chemicals or the regulation of chemical consulting activities in the draft amended Law on Chemicals in Vietnam. However, here is a summary of the general changes proposed in the draft:

Proposed Changes in the Draft Amended Law on Chemicals

Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Science, Technology and Environment Lê Quang Huy presents a report on the draft amended Law on Chemicals. - VNA/VNS Photo An Đăng

Reorganization of Chemical Classifications:
The concept of "toxic chemicals" has been abolished, introducing a new concept of toxic substances.
"Restricted chemicals" are now replaced by "chemicals requiring special control."
The category of "Chemicals subject to declaration" has been eliminated; all chemicals, including newly developed substances, must be declared upon import[2][3].
Regulatory Framework Modernization:
The draft aims to modernize Vietnam's chemical regulatory framework by addressing gaps in safety, sustainability, and lifecycle management, aligning with global standards[3].
It introduces separate regulations for chemicals in products and specifies requirements for regulated chemicals throughout the life cycle[3].
Sustainable Development and Management:
The draft emphasizes the sustainable development of the chemical industry into a modern, fundamental industry.
It promotes synchronous management of chemicals throughout their entire life cycle (production, trading, transportation, storage, use, treatment, and disposal)[3].
Effectiveness of Chemical Safety:
The draft aims to improve the effectiveness of ensuring chemical safety by revising the classification principles for controlled chemicals[2][3].
The National Assembly (NA) in Ha Noi is discussing the draft revised Law on Chemicals, focusing on prohibiting the promotion of dangerous chemicals, including online networks.
The ninth assembly session touched on key issues related to the revised law, with Chairman of the NA's Committee on Science, Technology and Environment Lê Quang Huy presenting the report.
The draft law encompasses eight chapters and 52 articles after revisions, as revealed by Huy.
Some delegates suggested reviewing regulations on conditions for chemical consulting activities to foster a conducive environment for investment and business.
The NA Standing Committee acknowledges that chemicals are a high-risk field, and chemical consulting activities significantly impact labor safety, human health, and environmental protection.
Regulations specifying conditions for organizations and individuals providing specialized consulting services in the chemical field and granting certificates to individuals aim to ensure the quality of the consulting process.
An anticipated development is the application of an online certification system for chemical consulting activities.
Regarding the Chemical Incident Prevention and Response Plan, suggestions were made to evaluate the basis and feasibility of the regulations to ensure smooth implementation in practice.
Delegate Thạch Phước Bình proposed adding a new clause to Article 3 on the prohibition of using digital platforms to illegally advertise, sell, trade, and supply dangerous chemicals.