India 2018

206 India 2018
Chemical Safety
In order to ensure chemical safety, the Ministry notified two sets of Rules under
the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 viz. (i) The Manufacture, Storage and
Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989 (MSIHC); and (ii) The Chemical
Accidents (Emergency, Planning, Preparedness, and Response) Rules (EPPR),
1996. The main objectives of the MISHC rules are to: (a) prevent major accidents
arising from industrial activities; and (b)limit the effects of such accidents. The
rules endeavour to achieve these objectives by having a quantity-based approach.
The MSIHC rules require the occupier to disclose the necessary information to
the public in the neighbourhood that is likely to be affected by a major accident
at the site. During the process of implementation of MSIHC Rules, 1989, it was
felt that a Chemical Crisis Management System has to be established in the
country to ensure proper coordination of the activities of the various authorities
and to render help to the District Collector who is responsible for the preparation,
maintenance and execution of an Off-Site Emergency Plan. Therefore, a set of
rules entitled Chemicals Accidents (Emergency Planning, Preparedness and
Response) Rules, 1996 was notified with the aim of providing administrative
structure at different levels such as national, state, district and local levels for
effective planning, preparedness and responses to chemicals accidents and also
ensuring availability of information to public likely to be affected by an accident.
The Chemical Accidents (EPPR) Rules. 1996 envisage a four-tier crisis
management system in the country at the central, state, district and local levels.
Hazardous Waste Management
To address the issue of ensure environmentally sound management of hazardous
waste for safety of health and environment during handling of such waste
Hazardous Waste (Management, Handling & Transboundary Movement) Rules,
2008 were notified under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The Rules lay
down procedure towards this process by providing provisions for authorization
of hazardous waste generating and units using hazardous waste. It also provides
for establishment of Treatment Storage and Disposal Facility (TSDF) for disposal
of hazardous wastes. The rules have an important provision on regulation of
import/export of hazardous waste in pursuance to our obligation under the
Basel Convention on Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous waste
and its disposal. India is party to the Convention.
The major salient features of Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management
& Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 include the following:- the ambit of
the Rules has been expanded by including 'Other-Waste'.; authorization and
registration requirement is replaced with one permission i.e., authorization under
the rules for all stakeholders handling the hazardous and other waste; waste
management hierarchy in the sequence of priority as prevention, minimization,
reuse, recycling, recovery, co-processing; and safe disposal being incorporated;
the process of import/export of waste under the rules has been streamlined by
simplifying the procedure and by revising the list of waste regulated for import/