Chinese government organized experts to guide hazardous chemicals firms to reduce safety risks. The first round of guidance was conducted in 53 key counties, where 209 hazardous chemicals firms were examined  and the experts identified 13 054 hidden dangers including 477 major ones, said Cheng Changjin, chief engineer of China Chemical Safety Association. The dangers are mainly classified into four types: safety management (21.8%), equipment (19.2%), instruments & electric systems (20.5%) and firefighting & emergency response (16.3%).

In the next step, related departments are to: 1) reexamine major sources of hidden dangers found in the first round; 2) urge enterprises to establish self-inspection mechanisms for safety risks; 3) conduct related training to propel enterprises to actively eliminate safety risks; 4) discuss with local governments if it is necessary to shut down enterprises with many major hidden dangers.