A new city regulation on occupational safety should go into
effect by the end of this year, Li Jianwei, director of the Beijing
Production Supervision and Management Bureau said on Thursday.
Li said the draft had passed the first round of deliberation by
the local legislature and would soon go for second round of
examination. Once it is approved, the new regulation will be
formally implemented, he said.
Li also disclosed the municipality's latest statistics on
industrial accidents.
In the six-month period from January to June, a total of 76
accidents occurred, rising 16.9 percent from the same period in
2003. The number of resulting fatalities jumped 38.2 percent, to
94.
Thirty-six of the accidents occurred on construction sites,
killing 41; another 15 involved coal mines, with a death toll of
24.
To improve the situation, the municipal government has mapped
out specific objectives and is optimizing its management and
supervision methods to conduct timely checks on the work
environment in accident-prone areas.
In the second half of the year, priority will be given to the
management of dangerous chemicals and coal mines. Every company
will be required to designate people or departments to be
responsible for improving occupational safety, said Li.
(Xinhua News Agency July 16, 2004)