Circular No. 04/2019/TT-BKHCN on the use of chemicals for experiments and scientific research

CIRCULAR

Article 24regulating the use of chemicals forể implementing thexperiments,researchứscientific purposes

_________________

Pursuant to the Chemical LawshallNo. 21ydated November 21, 2007June 2024;Pursuant to Decree No. 127/2007/NĐ-CP dated August 1, 2007 of the Government detailing implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Standards and Technical Regulations; Decree No. 78/2018/NĐ-CP dated May 16, 2018 of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 127/2007/NĐ-CP dated August 1, 2007 of the Government detailing implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Standards and Technical Regulations;

Pursuant to Decree No. 95/2017/NĐ-CP dated August 16, 2017 promulgating the functions, tasks, and powers of the Ministry of Science and Technology;1Pursuant to Decree No. 113/2017/NĐ-CP dated October 9, 2017 detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Chemical Law;June 2024;At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Science and Technology for Economic and Technical Sectors and the Director of the Legal Department;"b) In addition to the lists of public services issued according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 4 of this Decree, specialized agencies under provincial People's Committees shall report to the provincial People's Committee for decision-making on amending, supplementing, or issuing the list of public services funded by the state budget within their jurisdiction and consistent with the local budget capacity within the approved budget by the Provincial People's Assembly, and send it to the Ministry of Finance and relevant ministries and sectors for supervision during implementation."to define the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;In which, the adjustment rate for the monthly income already contributed to social insurance for the corresponding year shall be implemented according to Table 2 below: Table 2:The Minister of Science and Technology issues this Circular on the use of chemicals foramendThis Circular provides detailed regulations on Article 33 of the Chemical Law dated November 21, 2007 relating to the use of chemicals for conducting experiments and scientific research (hereinafter referred to as the Chemical Law), including:onof the State Treasury;118/2025/NĐ-CP dated June 09, 2025 of the Government on implementing administrative procedures under the one-stop shop mechanism at the One-Stop Service Center and the National Public Service Portal;a) Safety equipment and labor protection equipment ensuring safe use of chemicals for conducting experiments and scientific research;

Camendb) Labeling of chemical containers in laboratories and storage areas;Deputy ministers of ministerial-level agencies,a Ch"b) In addition to the lists of public services issued according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 4 of this Decree, specialized agencies under provincial People's Committees shall report to the provincial People's Committee for decision-making on amending, supplementing, or issuing the list of public services funded by the state budget within their jurisdiction and consistent with the local budget capacity within the approved budget by the Provincial People's Assembly, and send it to the Ministry of Finance and relevant ministries and sectors for supervision during implementation." July 25, 2017 Government Decree on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Planning and Investment;ic) Records of chemicals in laboratories; Safety data sheets;FUNCTIONS, DUTIES, POWERS, ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE, OPERATIONAL REGULATIONS, AND RELATIONSHIPS OF MANAGEMENT BOARDS; DUTIES, POWERS OF THE CHAIRPERSON, VICE CHAIRPERSON (IF ANY), SECRETARY, AND MEMBERS OF MANAGEMENT BOARDSd) Responsibilities of the heads of experimental and research institutions and persons directly using chemicals for conducting experiments and scientific research.

This Circular applies to state agencies, organizations, individuals using chemicals, and other organizations and individuals related to the use of chemicals for conducting experiments and scientific research.inThis Circular does not apply to organizations and individuals engaged in activities specified in Clause 2, Article 3 of the Chemical Law dated November 21, 2007.

Experimental and research institutionể implementing thexperiments,researchứscientific purposes.

PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

is an agency or organization established in accordance with the law, having the function of conducting experiments and scientific research;

Head of experimental and research institution

is the person representing the experimental and research institution in accordance with the law;

Person directly using chemicals

is the person carrying out experimental and research activities using chemicals;

Article 2. Applicability

Laboratory

is the place where experiments, tests, and analyses (collectively referred to as experiments) are conducted for analytical, evaluation, and scientific research purposes;

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

In this Circular, the following terms are understood as follows:

1. Chemical container includes various types of tanks, drums, bottles, jars, beakers, measuring cylinders, test tubes, etc., used to store chemicals or used for experimental and research activities involving chemicals;

2. Labeling of chemical containers is the act of marking one or more basic and necessary information about the chemicals and their hazardous properties on the containers to provide information to users;

3. Waste chemicals are chemicals that have been used and do not meet technical requirements for conducting experiments and scientific research and must be discarded or chemicals that have exceeded their shelf life.

4. Laboratory Article 4. General provisions on the use of chemicals for conducting experiments and scientific research

5. 1. Organizations and individuals using chemicals for conducting experiments and scientific research must comply with the management regulations on chemicals under the Chemical Law and Decree No. 113/2017/NĐ-CP dated October 9, 2017 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Chemical Law (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 113/2017/NĐ-CP). 2. Organizations and individuals using prohibited chemicals listed in the "List of Prohibited Chemicals" for conducting experiments and scientific research must comply with the provisions of Article 19 of the Chemical Law.

6. Labeling chemical containers involves marking one or more basic, necessary contents about the chemicals, their hazardous properties on the containers to provide information for users;

7. Waste chemicals are chemicals that have been used and no longer meet technical requirements for experiments, scientific research and must be discarded, or chemicals that have exceeded their expiration date.

Article 4. General provisions on the use of chemicals for experiments and scientific research

1. Organizations and individuals using chemicals for experiments and scientific research must comply with regulations on chemical management under the Chemical Law and Decree No. 113/2017/NĐ-CP dated October 9, 2017 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain articles of the Chemical Law (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 113/2017/NĐ-CP).

2. Organizations and individuals using prohibited chemicals listed in the "List of Prohibited Chemicals" for experiments and scientific research must implement the provisions of Article 19 of the Chemical Law.

Chapter II
SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Article 5. Safety equipment and personal protective equipment in laboratories

1. General provisions on safety equipment and personal protective equipment in laboratories include:

a) Equipment, devices, tools for responding to chemical accidents;

b) First aid kit;

c) Personal protective equipment (clothing, shoes, helmets, protective goggles, gas masks, gloves, masks...) necessary for laboratory workers suitable for the nature of research and experimental work;

d) Various types of waste containers classified and marked externally for easy identification;

đ) Labor safety regulations in laboratories, instructions for using experimental equipment, safe handling guidelines for chemicals according to hazardous chemical groups;

e) Chemical safety data sheets providing detailed information about harmful and dangerous chemicals from manufacturers, importers, and distributors;

2. Laboratories using hazardous chemicals must be equipped with appropriate safety equipment based on the characteristics of the hazardous chemicals, specifically:

a) Areas using flammable and explosive chemicals must have monitoring and warning devices and be equipped with appropriate ventilation systems;

b) Areas using volatile toxic chemicals must have appropriate fume hoods, exhaust fans, or collection and treatment systems ensuring compliance with air emission standards;

c) Areas using strong corrosive and oxidizing chemicals must be designed separately with appropriate waste collection and treatment systems to ensure safety;

d) Laboratories using other types of hazardous chemicals must be equipped with appropriate safety equipment or have suitable solutions to ensure safety for people and protect the environment;

3. In laboratories, areas for storing chemicals used for research and experiments must be arranged safely;

4. Hazardous chemicals and prohibited chemicals for scientific experiments and research must be stored in separate warehouses meeting the requirements for chemical storage as stipulated in Article 4 of Decree No. 113/2017/NĐ-CP;

5. The arrangement of safety equipment in laboratories must meet the following requirements:

a) Avoid fire exits and emergency exits. Emergency exits must be clearly indicated by signs, lights, and designed conveniently for evacuation, rescue, and disaster relief in emergencies;

b) Install ventilation systems, accident warning systems, lighting systems, electrical systems, supply, collection, and treatment systems for waste that comply with technical standards, anti-explosion, corrosion protection, environmental protection, labor safety and hygiene regulations;

c) Place safety chemical regulations boards, specific operation procedure boards, and hazard warning signs at visible locations;

6. Each laboratory, depending on its specialized nature, must issue specific regulations to ensure safety for people, property, and the environment during the use and storage of hazardous chemicals;

Article 6. Labeling of containers holding chemicals in chemical storage warehouses and laboratories

1. Chemicals packed in drums, bottles, or original packages stored in chemical storage warehouses and retained in laboratories shall be labeled according to the provisions of Clause 3 and 4 of Article 27 of the Chemical Law;

2. Chemicals purchased individually, reused, or consolidated and stored in chemical storage warehouses and chemicals used in laboratories after unpacking, dismantling, or transferring into containers for testing purposes must be labeled on the containers to warn and classify them to ensure safe use by users;

a) Labels on containers holding chemicals in chemical storage warehouses must provide the following information: name of chemical, chemical formula; preventive measures for safe use; expiration date; pictograms, signal words, hazard warnings (if applicable);

b) Labels on containers holding chemicals used during testing and scientific research processes must provide one or more of the following pieces of information:

- Name of chemical, chemical formula;

- Concentration, percentage, or main components.

Article 7. Records for monitoring the use of chemicals for experiments and scientific research

1. Laboratories shall establish records for monitoring the use of dangerous chemicals and prohibited chemicals, including:

a) A logbook for monitoring the use of dangerous chemicals and prohibited chemicals;

b) Files and documents for each type of prohibited chemical used for experiments and scientific research (if applicable);

c) Safety data sheets for hazardous chemicals that easily cause danger as stipulated in Article 24 of Decree No. 113/2017/NĐ-CP.

2. The logbook for monitoring the use of dangerous chemicals and prohibited chemicals shall be updated with all relevant information, including: the scientific name, trade name, chemical formula of the chemical; quantity, weight of chemicals used and waste chemicals; classification of dangerous chemicals; information related to chemical incidents and chemical safety; new characteristics and effects of chemicals causing danger.

3. The logbook for monitoring the use of dangerous chemicals and prohibited chemicals, and safety data sheets shall be stored uniformly at the designated location within the laboratory.

4. The retention period for records documenting the use of dangerous chemicals shall be at least three years, and for prohibited chemicals, it shall be at least ten years, starting from the date of completion of the use of such chemicals.

5. Conduct annual inventory of chemicals, update monitoring of old chemicals that have expired to ensure safe disposal measures.

Article 8. Responsibilities of the Head of the Experiment and Scientific Research Facility

1. Implement management of chemicals and chemical safety in accordance with the provisions of the law.

2. Develop, approve, and issue internal regulations, procedures, and guidelines for safe chemical use in compliance with legal provisions.

3. Construct chemical storage warehouses and laboratories meeting national technical standards and specifications, satisfying material and technical requirements, suitable for the specific nature of the industry, scale, and hazardous characteristics of the chemicals used.

4. Ensure adequate human resources, safety equipment, labor protection equipment, and assign personnel to monitor chemical safety, manage, store, and handle chemical incidents.

5. Ensure safety conditions for people and the environment during the storage and use of chemicals for experiments and scientific research as prescribed by law.

6. Develop plans for preventing and responding to chemical incidents and preventive and response measures for chemical incidents as stipulated in the Chemical Law and Decree No. 113/2017/NĐ-CP.

7. Organize chemical safety training or send personnel to participate in chemical safety training courses organized by training organizations as stipulated in Decree No. 113/2017/NĐ-CP.

8. Organize activities to ensure safe chemical use, including:

a) Disseminating and guiding users of chemicals to understand the rules on internal regulations for safe chemical use, experimental and research procedures, and skills to safely handle incidents at work;

b) Providing and maintaining sufficient and appropriate safety equipment and labor protection equipment to ensure a safe working environment;

c) Arranging safety equipment neatly, visibly, easily accessible, and fully equipped.

9. Strictly manage and control, report accurately and promptly on the use of prohibited chemicals to the competent authority.

10. Establish records for monitoring chemicals and retain safety data sheets in accordance with legal provisions.

11. Conduct calibration and verification of safety equipment in accordance with legal provisions on measurement.

12. Dispose of residual chemicals, waste, and chemical containers in accordance with Article 35 of the Chemical Law.

Article 9. Responsibilities of persons directly using chemicals

1. Comply with regulations on chemical safety management as prescribed by law and internal rules, procedures, and usage guidelines of the research laboratory or scientific institution.

2. Propose and implement plans for storing chemicals, using safety equipment, and personal protective equipment during experiments and scientific research to ensure safety.

3. Propose and implement classification and arrangement of storage areas according to groups of hazardous chemicals, containers for chemicals, and posting danger signs for conducting experiments and scientific research.

4. Strictly manage and control the use of chemicals to ensure safety in accordance with the regulations of the research laboratory or scientific institution. For the list of prohibited chemicals, strictly manage quantities and volumes, use them for their intended purposes in experiments and scientific research, and ensure absolute safety during use.

5. Use appropriate safety equipment, personal protective equipment, and chemical containers that comply with regulations, ensuring safety and cleanliness.

6. Timely detect and report unusual phenomena during the use of chemicals that pose risks of danger, loss of safety, or chemical accidents to the head of the research laboratory or scientific institution to take preventive and emergency response measures.

7. Arrange safety equipment, personal protective equipment, chemical containers, and store chemicals in accordance with the regulations of the research laboratory or scientific institution.

8. Participate in chemical safety training organized by the research laboratory or scientific institution (if applicable); understand internal rules, procedures, safe usage guidelines, and labor safety measures.

9. Carefully read materials, understand procedures before conducting experiments, and predict possible accidents to proactively prevent them, especially for dangerous chemicals and new chemicals.

10. Classify and store, dispose of waste in accordance with the regulations of the research laboratory or scientific institution.

11. Regularly review and propose handling of chemical waste and damaged chemical containers.

12. Maintain a record of chemical usage and waste.

Chapter III
IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 10. Responsibility for Implementation

1. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Science and Technology:

a) Coordinate with relevant ministries, sectors, and localities to organize the dissemination, implementation, and enforcement of this Circular;

b) Report on the situation of using dangerous chemicals and prohibited chemicals for experiments and scientific research as prescribed by law.

2. Responsibilities of provincial science and technology management agencies under the central government:

a) Coordinate with related agencies and units to organize the dissemination, implementation, and enforcement of this Circular in the locality;

b) Summarize and report promptly or when required on the situation of using chemicals for experiments and scientific research by organizations and individuals under management, sending to the Ministry of Science and Technology: the situation of using prohibited chemicals for experiments and scientific research; chemical accidents; new hazardous characteristics of used chemicals.

3. Responsibilities of organizations and individuals using chemicals for experiments and scientific research:

a) Organizations and individuals using chemicals for experiments and scientific research shall be responsible for reporting to the provincial science and technology management agency where the organization or individual is located and the direct supervisory agency, specifically:

- Reporting before January 15 each year on the situation of using prohibited chemicals for experiments and scientific research in the previous year. The report includes: scientific name, trade name of the chemical; concentration, properties; quantity, volume of chemicals purchased, used, discarded; purpose of use; purchase, use, and disposal records and documents;

- Promptly report the situation of chemical accidents occurring during experiments and scientific research. The report includes: scientific name, trade name of the chemical causing the accident; consequences for the organization and surrounding area (number of deaths, number of people affected health-wise, estimated material damage); cause, development, and process of accident resolution; related files, documents, images attached;

- Promptly report new hazardous characteristics of chemicals used for experiments and scientific research. The report includes: scientific name, trade name of the chemical; concentration, properties; purpose of use; phenomena occurring during use and new potential hazards of the chemical.

b) Organizations and individuals shall report when requested by state management agencies on the situation of using chemicals for experiments and scientific research.

Article 11. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from September 15, 2019.

2. During implementation, if encountering difficulties or obstacles, organizations and individuals shall promptly reflect in writing to the Ministry of Science and Technology for guidance or research on amendments and supplements to make it suitable.

3. The Minister, Head of a ministry equivalent to a ministry, Head of a governmental agency, Chairman of the People's Committee of a province or centrally governed city shall be responsible for organizing the implementation of this Circular./.