************************************************************
A spokesperson for the Security Bureau said today (April 25) that the Government would publish the Dangerous Goods (Application and Exemption) Regulation (DG(A&E)R) 2012 and the Dangerous Goods (Shipping) Regulation (DG(S)R) 2012 in the gazette this Friday (April 27) to improve the regulatory framework for dangerous goods and bring them in line with commonly adopted international standards.
The spokesperson said, "The Dangerous Goods Ordinance and its regulations provide for the control of dangerous goods on land and at sea. Some of the provisions are no longer in line with international practice so that we need to update and re-arrange them. We plan to introduce four new regulations to replace three of the existing pieces in two phases.
"Firstly, we will introduce the DG(A&E)R 2012 to specify the types and quantities of dangerous goods to be controlled on land, and the DG(S)R 2012 to set out the control over conveyance of dangerous goods at sea.
"Secondly, we will introduce another two regulations to provide for the detailed control requirements for the manufacture, storage, conveyance and use of dangerous goods on land, and the packing, marking and labelling requirements for dangerous goods. As the DG(A&E)R will have implications on the two regulations to be introduced in the second phase, we will introduce the latter two in the coming term of the Legislative Council (LegCo)."
According to the DG(A&E)R 2012, the dangerous goods under control on land will expand from about 1,100 to about 2,300 types and largely adopt the classification system of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code. We will also update the maximum quantity of a type of dangerous goods to which licensing control will not apply in the light of today's safety standards and technologies. We will also exempt a certain quantity of dangerous goods in consumer pack.
DG(S)R 2012 aims to better align the control over the handling and conveyance of dangerous goods in Hong Kong waters with commonly adopted international practice, notably the classification of dangerous goods, as well as with current safety practices.
From end 2011 to early 2012, the Administration consulted relevant trades and stakeholders about the proposed regulatory measures of the DG(A&E)R 2012 and the DG(S)R 2012, and conducted a number of public briefings on the classification system of dangerous goods and exemptions under the amendment regulation. All of them did not have objections to the two amendment regulations in general.
The two amendment regulations will be introduced into the LegCo on May 2, 2012. They will come into operation on a day to be appointed by the Secretary for Security by notice in the Gazette.
Ends/Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Issued at HKT 15:36
NNNN
