Chapter V Emergency Rescue, Investigation and Handling of Work Safety Accidents

Article 77
Local people's governments at or above the county level shall make arrangements for the departments concerned to formulate accident rescue plans for exceptionally serious accidents due to lack of work safety that may occur in their administrative regions and set up an emergency rescue system accordingly.
Article 78
The business entities shall establish the work safety accident emergency rescue plan of their own to be connected with the work safety accident emergency rescue plan formulated by the local people’s government at and above the country level where they are located, and organize emergency drilling on a regular basis.
Article 79
The entities that produce, manage, store hazardous substances as well as the mining, metal smelting, urban rail transit operation, and construction building enterprises shall establish emergency rescue organizations; if a production and business operation is small in scale, it may designate part-time emergency rescue persons instead of establishing the emergency rescue organization.
The entities that produce, manage, store hazardous substances as well as the mining, metal smelting, urban rail transit operation, and construction building enterprises shall be equipped with necessary rescue apparatuses, equipment and supplies which shall be serviced and maintained regularly so as to ensure their normal operation.
Article 80
When an accident due to lack of work safety occurs in a production or business unit, the persons at the scene shall immediately report the accident to the leading members of this unit.
On receiving such report, leading members of the unit shall take prompt, effective measures to arrange rescue operation, prevent the accident from spreading and minimize the injuries and deaths and loss of property, and they shall, in accordance with relevant State regulations, immediately report the facts of the accident to the local department in charge of supervision and control over work safety. They may not conceal the accident, make false report or delay the report, or deliberately damage the scene of the accident or destroy relevant evidence.
Article 81
On receiving the report on an accident, the department in charge of supervision and control over work safety shall, in accordance with relevant State regulations, report the accident immediately to the higher authority. No department in charge of supervision and control over work safety and relevant local people's government may conceal the facts of the accident or make a false report or delay the report of the accident.
Article 82
The person-in-charge of the local people’s governments concerned and the departments with work safety regulatory functions shall, upon receipt of report of work safety accident, hurry to the site of the accident immediately to organize rescue according to the requirements of the work safety accident emergency rescue plan.
The departments and units participating in the emergency rescue shall obey the unified guidance, strengthen cooperation and interaction, take effective emergency rescue measures, and according to the accident rescue needs, take warning and evacuation measures to prevent expansion of accident and occurrence of secondary disaster, so as to reduce the personal injury and financial loss.
Necessary measures shall be taken in the emergency rescue process to prevent or reduce the damage to the environment.
Article 83
The principle of being scientific and rigor, law compliance, practical and realistic and pragmatic shall be observed in the investigation and handling of accidents. The relevant people shall find out the accurate causes of the accidents in good time, sum up the lessons of the accidents, suggest measures for rectification and mending up, and give their opinions about how to deal with those who are responsible for the accidents. The accident investigation report shall be made publically available according to law. The detailed measures for the investigation and handling of accidents shall be formulated by the State Council.
The units that sustain the accident shall implement the rectification measures in all respects, and the departments with work safety regulatory functions shall strengthen the supervision and inspection.
Article 84
Where an accident that occurs in a production and business unit is determined, through investigation, on due to negligence of duty, in addition to finding out the liability to be undertaken by the unit and investigating it in accordance with law, the liability to be undertaken by the administrative departments in charge of examination and approval of and supervision over matters related to work safety matters shall also be ascertained and the persons who are negligent or derelict of their duties shall be investigated for their legal responsibility according to the provisions in Article 77 of this Law.
Article 85
No unit or individual may obstruct or interfere with the lawful investigation into and handling of the accidents.
Article 86
Departments in charge of supervision and control over work safety under the local people's governments at or above the county level shall regularly prepare statistics and make analysis of accidents due to lack of work safety that have occurred within their own administrative areas and publish the information regularly.
Chapter VI Legal Liability
Article 87
Where a staff member of the department in charge of supervision and administration of work safety commits one of the following acts, the member shall be given a penalty of demotion or dismission; it shall be subject to the criminal liabilities according to relevant provisions of the Criminal Law if a crime has been constituted:
(1) Giving approval or authorize acceptance to matters related to work safety that do not meet the statutory conditions for work safety;
(2) Failing to outlaw or deal with, in accordance with law, units after discovering that they are engaged in relevant activities without obtaining approval or being qualified for acceptance in accordance with law or after receiving reports thereof;
(3) Failing to perform his duty of supervision and control over the units that have obtained approval in accordance with law, to cancel the approval given to the units that he finds no longer to possess the conditions for work safety, or to investigate and deal with violations of work safety regulations; and
(4) Failing to handle without delay any serious hidden accident discovered in the supervision and inspection.
Any staff member of the departments with work safety regulatory functions shall be punished according to law if they abuse their powers, neglect their duties or seek profit for personal gains beyond what prescribed in the preceding paragraph, and shall be investigated for criminal liabilities according to the relevant provisions of Criminal Law if a crime is constituted.
Article 88
Where a department in charge of supervision and control over work safety requires that the unit under examination and check for acceptance purchase the work safety equipment, devices or other products it designates, or charges fees for examining or checking for acceptance matters related to work safety, the authority at a higher level or a supervisory organization shall order it to put it right or return the fees collected; if the circumstances are serious, the persons directly in charge and the other persons directly responsible shall be given penalty in accordance with law.
Article 89
Any institution that undertakes the work of safety appraisal, certification, detection and test issues false certificates shall have its illegal proceeds confiscated, or be fined no less than two times but no more than five times the illegal proceeds if illegal proceeds are above 100,000 Yuan, or be simply or concurrently fined no less than 100,000 Yuan but no more than 200,000 Yuan if in the absence of illegal proceeds or the illegal proceeds are less than 100,000 Yuan, or have the person in direct charge thereof and other direct responsible persons imposed a fine of no less than 20,000 but no more than 50,000 Yuan, or e held jointly and severally liable together with the business entry if injuries have been caused to others, or be investigated for criminal liabilities according to relevant provisions of Criminal Law if a crime is constituted.
Any institution that has committed any of the illegal acts as mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be disqualified accordingly.
Article 90
If the decision-making organ or major person-in-charge of a business entity or the investor of any individually run business fails to ensure the capital investment necessary for guaranteeing the work safety as provided in this Law so that the business entity no longer meets the requirements for safety production, such entity shall be ordered to rectify within a prescribed time period and provide the necessary capital investment; if it fails to rectify within a prescribed time period, the business entity shall be ordered to suspend business for rectification.
If any of the illegal acts as mentioned in the preceding paragraph has resulted in any work safety accident, the major person-in-charge of the business entity shall be given a punishment of demotion, and the investor of the individually run business shall be imposed a fine of no less than 20,000 Yuan but not more than 200,000 Yuan; it shall be subject to the criminal liabilities according to relevant provisions of the Criminal Law if a crime has been constituted.
Article 91
If the major person-in-charge of a business entity fails to perform his duty of administering the work safety according to the provisions of this Law, he or she shall be ordered to rectify within a prescribed time limit; if he or she fails to rectify within the prescribed time limit, the business entity shall be imposed a fine of no less than 20,000 but no more than 50,000 Yuan and ordered to suspend production and business for rectification.
If the major person-in-charge of a business entity commits any of the acts as mentioned in the preceding paragraph and thus a work safety accident has been resulted, such major person-in-charge shall be given a punishment of demotion, or shall be subject to the criminal liabilities according to relevant provisions of the Criminal Law if a crime has been constituted.
If the major person-in –charge of a business entity is subject to criminal liabilities or punished by being removed from his positions according to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, he or she may not be the major person-in-charge of any business entity within five years starting from the day when the criminal penalty is executed or from the day when he is given the punishment. The people-in-charge who is held responsible for major accident and tremendous devastating accident shall not be the major person-in-charge in the same industry for lifetime.
Article 92
The work safety administrative department shall impose fine as below on the major person-in-charge of the business entity that fail to perform his duty of administering the work safety:
(1) A fine at 30% of the annual income of the last year in case of ordinary accident;
(2) A fine at 40% of the annual income of the last year in case of large accident;
(3) A fine at 60% of the annual income of the last year in case of major accident;
(4) A fine at the rate of 80% of the annual income of the last year in case of tremendous devastating accident.
Article 93
Any work safety management personnel of a business entity shall be ordered to correct within the prescribed time limit the failure to perform his duty of administering the work safety, or cause his work safety-related qualification be suspended or revoked if any work safety accident has been resulted, or shall be subject to criminal liabilities according to the relevant provisions of the Criminal Law if a crime has been constituted.
Article 94
In any of the following circumstances, the business entity shall be ordered to rectify within a prescribed time limit and may be imposed a fine of less than 50,000 Yuan; if it fails to rectify within the prescribed time limit, it shall be ordered to suspend production or business for rectification, and may be fined more than 50,000 Yuan but less than 100,000 Yuan, and the person-in-charge who is held directly responsible and other directly responsible persons shall be imposed a fine of no less than 10,000 but no more than 20,000 Yuan.
(1) Failing to establish a work safety management organization or to have work safety management personnel;
(2) The primary persons-in-charge or work safety management personnel of an entity manufacturing, marketing or storing hazardous substances or an entity engaged in the mining, metal smelting, building construction or road transportation fails to examinations according to relevant provisions;
(3) Failing to give work safety educations and training to the works, dispatched laborers and interns according to relevant provisions, or failing to truthfully inform them of the work safety matters according to relevant provisions;
(4) Failing to truthfully record the situations of the work safety trainings and educations.
(5) Failing to truthfully record down the potential accidents inspection and treatment or failing to report to the workers;
(6) Failing to draw up the work safety accident emergency rescue plan or organize drilling according to relevant provisions;
(7) Any special operation staff failing to receive specialized trainings on work safety and obtain qualification certificate for the special operations according to the provisions yet still work at his position.
Article 95
In any of the following circumstances, the business entity shall be ordered to suspend construction or suspend production or business operation for rectification within a prescribed time limit; it shall be imposed a fine of no less than 500,000 Yuan but no more than 1,000,000 and have the person in direct charge thereof and other directly responsible persons fined of no less than 20,000 Yuan but not more than 50,000 Yuan if it fails to correct within the prescribed time limit; it shall be subject to the criminal liabilities according to relevant provisions of the Criminal Law if a crime has been constituted.
(1) Failing to conduct safety appraisal for the mining or metal smelting construction project, or construction project relating to the production, storage, loading and unloading of hazardous substances;
(2) There is no design of safety facilities for the mining or metal smelting contraction project, or a construction project for the manufacturing, storage, loading and unloading of hazardous substances, or the design of safety facilities has failed to be submitted to relevant departments according to relevant provisions;
(3) The construction entity of a mining or metal smelting project or a construction project for the manufacturing, storage, loading and unloading of hazardous substances fails to execute the construction according to the approved design of safety facilities;
(4) The safety facilities fail to pass the examination for acceptance before a mining or metal smelting construction project or a construction project for the manufacturing or storage of hazardous substances is put into production or use;
Article 96
In any of the following circumstances, the business entity shall be ordered to rectify within a prescribed time limit and may be imposed a fine of no more than 50,000 Yuan; if it fails to correct within the prescribed time limit, it shall be imposed a fine of no less than 50,000 Yuan but no more than 200,000 Yuan and have the person who is in direct charge of the entity and other directly responsible persons fined of more than 10,000 Yuan but no more than 20,000 Yuan; it shall be ordered to suspend production or business for rectification if circumstances are serious; it shall be subject to the criminal liabilities according to relevant provisions of the Criminal Law if a crime has been constituted.
(1) Failing to place eye-catching safety warning marks at the sites of production and business operation or on relevant facilities and equipment which are considerably dangerous;
(2) The installation, using, testing, transformation or discarding of safety facilities is not in conformity with national or industrial standards;
(3) Failing to carry out regular repair, maintenance or regular test for safety facilities;
(4) Failing to provide workers with personal protective equipment that are up to the national or industrial standards;
(5) Any container or transportation mean for hazardous substances, and special dangerous equipment for marine petroleum exploitation and for down-hole mining is put into use before passing the detection and test of the eligible institutions and obtaining a certificate for safety use or a safety label;
(6) Using any of the techniques or equipment that endanger the work safety and that have been explicitly announced to be eliminated;
Article 97
Anyone who unlawfully produces, manages, stores or uses any hazardous product or disposes of discarded hazardous product without approval shall be imposed punishment according to the laws and administrative regulations on the safety management of hazardous products, or shall be subject to criminal liabilities according to relevant provisions of the Criminal Law if a crime has been constituted.
Article 98
If a business entity commits any of the acts, such entity shall be ordered to rectify within a prescribed time limit and may be imposed a fine of less than 100,000 Yuan; if it fails to correct within the prescribed time limit, it shall be ordered to suspend production or business for rectification and be fined more than one 100,000 Yuan but less than 200,000 Yuan, and have the person who is in direct charge of the entity and other directly responsible persons imposed a fine of no less than 20,000 Yuan but no more than 50,000 Yuan; if a crime has been constituted, it shall be subject to the criminal liabilities according to relevant provisions of the Criminal Law.
(1) Failing to establish special safety administration system or failing to take liable safety measures for the production, management, transportation, storage and use of hazardous substances or for the disposal of discarded hazardous substances.
(2) Failing to create archive file or failing to make appraisal or monitoring or failing to make emergency plan for the important sources of danger;
(3) Failing to arrange for special personnel to conduct on-site safety management in the dangerous operations including the blasting, hoisting, and other dangerous operations as specified by the work safety administrative departments of the State Council in conjunction with related departments of the State Council.
(4) Failing to establish rules for the screening for and elimination of hidden risks of work safety accidents;
Article 99
If a business entity fails to take measures to eliminate hidden risks of accident, it shall be ordered to execute such elimination immediately or within a prescribed time limit; if it refuses to execute, it shall be ordered to suspend production or business for rectification, and be concurrently imposed a fine of no less than 100,000 Yuan but no more than 500,000, and have the person who is in direct charge of the entity and other directly responsible persons fined more than 20,000 but less than 500,000 Yuan.
Article 100
Any business entity that contracts or leases any production and business operation project, site or equipment to any entity or individual without the conditions for work safety or without corresponding qualifications shall be ordered to rectify within a prescribed time limit and the illegal proceeds thereof shall be confiscated, and at the same time, be fined more than two times but less than five times the illegal proceeds if such proceeds are more than 100,000 Yuan, or be simply or concurrently imposed a fine of no less than 100,000 but no more than 200,000 Yuan if in the absence of illegal proceeds or such proceeds are less than 100,000, or have the person who is in direct charge of the entity and other directly responsible persons fined more than 10,000 but less than 20,000 Yuan, or assume joint and several liabilities with the contractor or lessee if damages have been caused to other due to a work safety accident.
Any business entity that fails to enter into a work safety administration agreement with the contractor or lessee or fails to specify the duties and functions of work safety administration of the parties concerned in the contract agreement or leasehold contract or fails to conduct unified coordination and administration of work safety over the contractor or lessee shall be ordered to rectify within a prescribed time limit and may be imposed a fine of no more than 50,000 Yuan, and have the person in direct charge thereof and other directly responsible persons fined less than 10,000 Yuan, or shall be ordered to suspend production or business for rectification if it fails to rectify within the prescribed time limit.
Article 101
Where two or more production or business units are conducting production or business activities within the same work zone, which presents potential dangers to each other's work safety, if they fail to sign an agreement on work safety control or to assign full-time persons for control over work safety to conduct safety inspection and coordination, they shall be ordered to rectify within a time limit and may be imposed a fine of no more than 50,000 Yuan, and have the person in direct charge thereof and other directly responsible persons fined less than 10,000 Yuan; if they fail to rectify on the expiration of the time limit, they shall be ordered to suspend production or business operation.
Article 102
Any production or business unit that commits one of the following acts shall be ordered to rectify within a time limit and may be imposed a fine of no more than 50,000 Yuan, and have the person in direct charge thereof and other directly responsible persons fined less than 10,000 Yuan; if it fails to rectify on the expiration of the time limit, it shall be ordered to suspend production or business operation for rectification; it shall be subject to the criminal liabilities according to relevant provisions of the Criminal Law if a crime has been constituted:
(1) Having workshops, stores or warehouses where hazardous substances are manufactured, marketed, stored or used share the same building with the employees' living quarters or the distance between these structures and the employees' living quarters is not up to the requirements for safety;
(2) Failing to have exits at manufacturing and marketing places or in the living quarters of employees, exits that meet the requirements for emergency evacuation are indicated clearly and kept unobstructed, or having the exits there sealed or blocked.
Article 103
Where a production or business unit signs an agreement with its employees in an attempt to relieve itself of, or lighten, the responsibilities it should bear in accordance with law for the employees who are injured or killed as a result of accidents due to lack of work safety, such an agreements shall be invalid, and the principal leading member of the unit and the individual investor shall be fined not less than 20,000 Yuan but not more than 100,000 Yuan.
Article 104
Where an employee of a production or business unit refuses to subject himself to supervision, violating work safety rules and regulations or operation instructions, the said production or business unit shall criticize him by way of education and take disciplinary action against him in accordance with relevant rules and regulations; it shall be subject to the criminal liabilities according to relevant provisions of the Criminal Law if a crime has been constituted.
Article 105
If a business entity, in violation of the provisions of this law, refuses to accept or blocks the supervision and inspection executed by the departments with work safety regulatory functions according to law, such entity shall be ordered to correct, otherwise shall be fined more than 20,000 but less than 200,000 Yuan, or shall have the person who is in direct charge of the entity and other directly responsible persons shall be fined more than 10,000 but less than 20,000 Yuan, or shall be subject to the criminal liabilities according to relevant provisions of the Criminal Law if a crime has been constituted.
Article 106
Where major person-in-charge of a business entity fails to organize rescue immediately when any work safety accident occurs to the entity or leaves his position without permission or escapes and hides during the investigation and handling of the accident, he shall be punished by being demoted or removed from his position, and be fined at 60% to 100% of the annual income of the previous year by the work safety administrative department, or shall be held in custody for no more than fifteen days if he has escaped or hidden out, or shall be subject to the criminal liabilities according to relevant provisions of the Criminal Law if a crime has been constituted.
The major person-in-charge of a business entity who conceals any work safety accident or submits deceitful reports or delays report shall be punished according to the provision of the preceding paragraph.
Article 107
Where the local people's government concerned or the department in charge of supervision and control over work safety conceals the facts of an accident due to lack of work safety, makes false report of the accident or delays such report, the persons directly in charge and the other persons directly responsible shall be given penalty in accordance with law; or shall be subject to the criminal liabilities according to relevant provisions of the Criminal Law if a crime has been constituted.
Article 108
Any production or business unit that does not have the conditions for work safety specified by this Law and the relevant laws, and administrative regulations, and national standards or industrial specifications still remains so after its production or business operation is suspended for rectification, it shall be closed down, and the departments
Article 109
In case of work safety accident, in addition to assuming corresponding indemnity responsibility according to law, the business entity that is held liable for such accident shall be imposed a fine by the work safety administrative department as below:
(1) A fine of no less than 200,000 but no more than 500,000 Yuan in case of ordinary accident;
(2) A fine of no less than 500,000 but no more than 1,000,000 Yuan in case of large accident;
(3) A fine of no less than 1,000,000 but no more than 5,000,000 Yuan in case of major accident;
(4) A fine of no less than 5,000,000 but no more than 10,000,000 Yuan in case of tremendous devastating accident; a fine of no less than 10,000,000 but no more than 20,000,000 Yuan if circumstances are severe.
Article 110
The administrative punishments as mentioned in this Law shall be decided by the work safety administrative department and other departments with work safety regulatory functions according to the division of power. The administrative punishment of closing down shall be submitted for decision by the departments with work safety regulatory functions to the people’s government at and above the county level according to their division of power as provided by the State Council; the administrative punishment of keeping in custody shall be decided by the public security organ according to the provisions of the Security Administration Punishment Law.
Article 111
The production or business unit where an accident due to lack of work safety occurs, which results in injuries or deaths of employees and causes losses to other persons, shall bear the liability to pay compensation in accordance with law; if the unit refuses to bear the liability or the leading member of the unit goes into hiding, the People's Court shall take enforcement measures in accordance with law.
If the persons responsible for the accident due to lack of work safety who fails to bear the liability to pay compensation in accordance with law is still unable to pay compensation in full to the victims after the People's Court has taken enforcement measures in accordance with law, he shall continue to perform his obligation of compensation. If the victims find that the person has other property, they may, at any time, make a request to the People's Court for enforcement.

Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions

Article 112
The following terms used in this Law mean:
Hazardous substances include materials that present potential threat to the safety of persons and property safety, such as combustibles and explosives, hazardous chemical materials and radioactive substances.
Major hazard refer to long-term or temporary manufacturing, transporting, using or storing of hazardous materials, the amount of which is equal to or exceeds the critical amount unit (including the places and facilities).
Article 113
The ordinary accident, large accident, major accident and tremendous devastating accident relating to the work safety as mentioned in the Law shall be subject to the stipulations of the State Council.
The work safety administrative department of the State Council and other departments with work safety regulatory functions shall formulate judging standards for serious hidden accidents in related industries and sectors according to the division of their power.
Article 104
This Law shall go into effect as of November 1, 2002.