Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases – China
|
| The latest statistics show that almost 14,000 new occupational diseases were diagnosed in China in 2008, such as pneumoconiosis, occupational poisoning, radiation induced occupational diseases etc. The top three industries for high occupational disease exposure are coal mining, nonferrous metal processing and construction, which together account for over 60% of cases. More than half of the instances occurred in small and medium-sized enterprises with over 115,000 companies found to have occupational disease hazards, such as dust, asbestos, organic solvents etc. |
Latest Regulation on Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases
Further to the increased risk of domestic occupational diseases, the Ministry of Health of State Council recently issued a notice requiringlocal governments to implement a National Plan on Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases. This is planned to run from 2009 to 2015. The Plan imposes the following detailed requirements on employers to prevent and control occupational diseases.
1. Employers with occupational disease risks must put into practice a well-structured responsibility system for occupational disease prevention. This would include:
• Establishing an occupational hygiene administrative organization,
• Training full-time or part-time professional personnel,
• Arranging for the supervision and management of occupational health for personnel,
• Developing plans and implementation schemes for the prevention and control of occupational diseases,
• Establishing an appropriate administrative system for occupational hygiene, and
• implementing practical and feasible measures according to the relevant laws and regulations.
2. There is also an increased focus on implementing the prevention and control measures. This includes not only accurately declaring issues relating to occupational hazards but also prioritizing new technologies, processes and materials to avoid the risks and protect the health of workers. Allied to this there is a requirement to gradually replace equipment and processes with these new technologies.
3. The National Plan also calls for more effective inspection, evaluation and control of the factors leading to occupational diseases and requirements to ensure that workplaces comply with occupational hygiene laws, including the provision of bulletins and notices prominently placed wherever risks have been noted.
4. Employers using toxic substances must obtain a license for occupational hygiene and safety, prepare personnel for emergency rescue and have the necessary rescue apparatus and devices, and constitute a plan for emergency rescue. Moreover, any transfer of hazard-inducing operations to entities or individuals which lack such procedures is banned.
5. The management of occupational health and patient treatment must be strengthened with occupational hygiene training before work commences and regular training during the course of employment together with promotion of occupational hygiene knowledge. Where there is exposure to potential occupational disease, employers must arrange examination for occupational health before, during, and after the employment and inform workers of the relevant examination results. In the worst case, where workers have suffered or may be suffering from acute occupational diseases, the employer must promptly arrange diagnosis for patients with suspected occupational diseases, and provide treatment, rehabilitation, regular examination and proper compensation for patients with occupational diseases, so as to ensure their rights and interest.
6. There are also heightened requirements for disclosure on the part of employers. The employer must implement procedures to inform potential employees about occupational disease hazards when signing the labor contract and purchase employment injury insurance as well as implementing a “hazardous operation”. allowance for all workers and special protection policies for female and juvenile employees. Employers in highrisk industries must also promote a special collective contract system for occupational hygiene.
Email us at mktg.hk@sgs.com for enquiries or visit www.hk.sgs.com.
|
|
