Ministry of Emergency Management cracks down hard on illegal chemical production, publicly releasing 15 typical cases

On April 22, the Ministry of Emergency Management held a quarterly routine press conference. A reporter from Upstream News learned at the meeting that to severely crack down on illegal chemical production, the Office of the Work Safety Committee of the State Council and the Ministry of Emergency Management have deployed a series of targeted measures such as special screening and rectification, supervision by listing, and warning exposure. A total of 4 batches comprising 15 typical cases have been publicly released, continuously strengthening the defense line for safe chemical production.

Liu Li, Deputy Director-General of the First Department of Hazardous Chemicals Safety Supervision and Management at the Ministry of Emergency Management, pointed out at the meeting that current illegal chemical production exhibits three prominent characteristics, and the hazards pose extreme danger.

First, profiting at the expense of safety. Driven by soaring product prices, some lawbreakers take risks to illegally produce high-risk products. For example, after the price of the pesticide raw material 2-nitro-3-methylbenzoic acid surged significantly, both the Xinxiang, Henan "7·23" and Shuozhou, Shanxi "2·7" accidents were caused by the illegal production of this product. The nitration process used carries extremely high risks and is prone to explosions. Furthermore, the on-site facilities were rudimentary, and personnel lacked professional capabilities, completely failing to meet safe production conditions.

Second, extreme concealment. Illegal production sites are often hidden in areas with weak supervision, such as administrative border zones and abandoned sites. Some disguise themselves by "hanging a sheep's head but selling dog meat" (engaging in deceptive practices), such as the illegal site in Shuozhou, Shanxi, which used feed production as a cover. Some even move around to commit crimes, such as in the Juancheng, Shandong "1·20" illegal production explosion accident in 2024, where the site successively moved across 2 provinces and 3 locations.

Third, obvious chain-like structure. Illegal production does not exist in isolation; it is often linked to upstream and downstream links such as raw material supply, technical support, venue leasing, equipment provision, and product acquisition. It requires the collaborative efforts of multiple regions and departments to completely eradicate the chain of interests.

Illegal chemical production seriously threatens the safety of people's lives and property. The Ministry of Emergency Management has clarified that it will strengthen rectification from four aspects and maintain a high-pressure crackdown posture:

First, consolidating primary-level regulatory responsibilities and leveraging the "sentinel" role of counties and townships. Adopting a grid management model to conduct routine screenings of key areas and suspicious sites to ensure early detection, reporting, and investigation of problems.

Second, strengthening technology-empowered regulation. Comprehensively utilizing technical means such as big data and artificial intelligence, and innovating applications like information sharing, data comparison, and monitoring and early warning to improve the precision and effectiveness of cracking down on illegal production.

Third, deepening the connection between administrative and criminal justice. For illegal production acts that constitute crimes, criminal responsibility will be strictly pursued in accordance with the Criminal Law. Strengthening tracing to the source to investigate and dispose of all links in the illegal production interest chain together. It is reported that ten departments, including the Ministry of Emergency Management, just issued an announcement incorporating 5 chemicals such as 3-chloropropylene into the "Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals" to implement safety licensing supervision, further plugging regulatory loopholes.

Fourth, promoting social co-governance. Continuously strengthening publicity and warnings, regularly releasing typical cases, increasing rewards for reporting, and mobilizing social forces to participate in supervision. It is introduced that currently, places like Shandong have issued policies offering rewards of up to 400,000 yuan to reporters of illegal chemical production, fully mobilizing the enthusiasm of the masses to report.