New National Standard GB/T45420-2025 Released Major Shift in Hazardous Chemicals Safety Management

The national standard “Technical Specification for Risk Classification Control of Hazardous Chemicals Safety Production” (GB/T45420-2025), drafted by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, will officially implement on September 1 this year, marking a significant advancement in hazardous chemicals safety management.

This standard introduces systematic risk control methods aimed at establishing risk classification control standards for hazardous chemicals, effectively filling a gap in this field. It applies to enterprises involved in the production, storage, and operation of hazardous chemicals, providing effective measures for safety production risk management.

As the chemical and new energy industries rapidly develop, the pressure on hazardous chemicals safety management is increasing. Firstly, there is a pressing need to enhance awareness of safety management centered on risk classification control, while the technical requirements for risk identification and management processes need to be standardized. Secondly, during the digital transformation of hazardous chemicals enterprises, issues like the confusion between inherent risks and residual risks often arise, and the scientific and systematic nature of risk lists requires improvement. Lastly, in the process of building national information systems for hazardous chemicals safety supervision, challenges such as fragmented data resources and poor interoperability persist.

In response to these challenges, the standard standardizes the risk management processes for hazardous chemicals production and storage facilities, including risk assessment, control, and monitoring. This reflects China’s regulatory requirements regarding dual prevention mechanisms, risk monitoring and early warning, and Internet+ safety production, aligning domestic practices with international standards.

The standard clarifies the concepts of inherent risks and residual risks and introduces a classification method for inherent risks, enabling better resource allocation for high-risk activities to maintain controllable risk levels. Additionally, concerning the essential safety work for new process development, the standard proposes systematic measures across multiple stages, including acquiring necessary safety information and conducting essential safety assessments and optimizations, aimed at reducing risks to acceptable levels.