On September 12, the National Assembly Steering Committee discussed the draft Law on Chemicals with attention paid to the special management of special chemicals and prohibited chemicals.

Under the draft law, the chemicals needing special control will be shown on a list to be issued by the government. The chemicals put under special control include chemicals subject to control to implement international treaties of which Vietnam is a signatory; and chemicals which may harm national defence, security and social order, and people and creatures’ health, assets and the environment.

Regarding management over the trade of chemicals subject to special control, the draft law says there must be check sheets and confirmation by buyers and sellers.

The check sheets must include information about the names of chemicals, volumes of chemicals, use purposes, names of organizations, enterprises’ codes and addresses, representatives of buyers/sellers, licenses to trade chemicals subject to special control, places, and time of deliveries.

The draft law says that the drawing up and confirmation of check sheets for purchase/sale of chemicals subject to special control are implemented based on the chemicals database within three days since the delivery day.

Nguyen Thanh Hai, Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Committee for Deputy Affairs, said there are many problems that need specific regulations.

She recalled the Salbutamol crisis which occurred some years ago. The substance, if used in large amounts, was listed as a prohibited chemical in animal husbandry and the residue of the substance in human bodies can cause cancer. Pork buyers cannot find Salbutamol with their naked eyes and the only solution to prevent the use of the substance is strictly controlling the farming process.

Meanwhile, the substance is allowed to be used in medicine in small dozes to treat asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

She also mentioned the management of N2O. While it is a substance that has sedative and pain-relieving effects in medicine and many industries, including food processing, it may affect people’s mind and body, causing hallucinations that people call ‘funky balloon’.

In the two cases, chemicals are not prohibited in medicine and prohibited in livestock industry. So, the question is which ministries will come forward and control the import of the substances?

Hai also expressed worry about the violations in chemicals trade which occur regularly, and about the use of chemicals for wrong purposes, such as in food processing, because this will harm consumers’ health.

According to the chair of the National Defense and Security Committee Le Tan Toi, the management over the chemicals needed to be put under special control remains lax..

“Recently, two cases involving cyanide have been discovered in Dong Nai and a case involving Vietnamese people in Thailand. Though the amounts used were very small, the cases were very serious,” Toi said.

Citing the draft law's provisions in Article 33 on controlling the purchase and sale of chemicals requiring special control, Toi said managing the purchase and sale is very difficult in reality.

The draft law says there must be check sheets for transactions of chemicals, and confirmation by sellers/buyers. But in fact, buyers just place orders via telephone and social networks, and products are delivered at the places determined by buyers/sellers.

Stressing that state management agencies still cannot strictly control chemical use and trade in the context of the rapid development of social networks and technology, he requested the compilation board of the draft law on chemicals to carry out more research to control extremely dangerous chemicals, such as cyanide and other chemicals. 

According to the National Assembly's Committee for Science, Technology and the Environment chair Le Quang Huy, when appraising the draft law, some agencies asked the compilation board to clarify the legal value and relation between the ‘check sheet for the purchase/sale of chemicals subject to special control which have been drawn up/confirmed’ and the the announcement on types of chemicals and purposes of chemical use before the first use, or when the purposes of use change.

He requested to check the regulations on producing, importing and exporting prohibited chemicals to ensure conformity with the Law on Foreign Trade Management.

The draft law on chemicals (amended) comprises 89 articles and 10 chapters and is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly at the eighth session in October.

Thu Hang