On the afternoon of November 23, the National Assembly discussed in the hall the draft Law on Chemicals (amended).
Speaking, delegate Tran Khanh Thu (Thai Binh delegation) suggested that it is necessary to review and consider special chemicals, banned chemicals, and dangerous chemicals in the process of research, testing, production, and use that pose a risk of causing unsafety and seriously affecting people if an incident occurs.
Delegates said that the provisions in the draft law related to these chemicals are still quite sketchy. In fact, although there are regulations on the purchase and sale of cyanide requiring a control certificate, the law does not specifically stipulate which conditions individuals and organizations must meet in order to purchase and use it.
According to the delegate, cyanide and cyanide-containing compounds are currently used in pesticides, disinfectants and gold and silver mining. Decree 113/2017/ND-CP does not stipulate that cyanide is a banned chemical, but only stipulates that cyanide compounds are in the list of dangerous chemicals, requiring the development of an incident prevention and response plan.
Current regulations also do not require sellers to check the buyer's condition before selling. This situation leads to the widespread sale of cyanide on the market.
In fact, there have been many tragic cases involving cyanide poisoning in recent times. The delegate cited the case of a woman in Thai Binh province who put cyanide in milk tea to poison her cousin. However, this cruel act resulted in the death of a female nurse at Thai Binh Lung Hospital.
The most recent case was the cyanide poisoning on October 20, then the car carrying the victim's body crashed into a ravine in the Bao Loc Pass area, Bao Loc City (Lam Dong Province).
"These incidents have shocked the public because this action has been happening and repeating itself for a long time. It is worth mentioning that buying cyanide is very easy, ordered on the internet. This shows a loophole in the buying and selling of toxic substances, including cyanide," the delegate emphasized.
From there, delegates proposed to review and evaluate all types of chemicals and mixtures to include them in the list of banned chemicals and dangerous chemicals and to have strict regulations on the import of raw materials for production, storage and use.
Delegate Pham Van Hoa (Dong Thap Delegation) emphasized that the development and promulgation of the Chemical Law project (amended) is very important because chemicals serve national interests, economic development, and medicine.
However, the delegate also pointed out that chemicals can also be harmful to people if not carefully managed. For criminals and greedy businesses, chemicals can be used in products and food, which can be very toxic and dangerous. When chemicals are not carefully managed, it can also seriously affect the environment.
Regarding dangerous chemicals, the delegate said that this is an issue that people are very concerned about. With industrial products and foods containing chemicals, people do not know whether those chemicals affect human health or not. Therefore, State management and food safety inspection are very important.
Delegates suggested that toxic and dangerous chemicals should not be allowed to be built in factories, facilities, or researched in urban areas, but should be moved to areas that are not affected in case of an incident. This helps to avoid affecting the environment and the health of people in the surrounding areas.
