Hazardous chemicals are sold publicly on some e-commerce platforms [Experts suggest that supervision urgently needs online and offline integration]
● Some e-commerce platforms openly sell dangerous chemicals such as solutions with a concentration of more than 10% ammonia and high-concentration hydrogen peroxide, as well as poisonous items such as rat poison and pesticides without a license.
Some overseas social platforms have even established transportation channels for highly toxic substances, through which individuals can buy highly toxic drugs such as paraquat and oxygen breaking toxin
● The state implements a licensing system for the operation of hazardous chemicals, including warehousing. Without a license, no unit or individual is allowed to operate hazardous chemicals.
When an operator sells explosive-forming hazardous chemicals, it shall not sell to units that do not have relevant licenses or certification documents, and it is prohibited to sell explosive-forming hazardous chemicals to individuals
● Relevant departments should further increase the publicity of laws, regulations, and standards related to the safety of hazardous chemicals; they should strengthen the supervision of the entire chain of Internet sales of hazardous chemicals, and synchronize online and offline supervision
□ Our reporter Zhang Shoukun
Recently, some media reported that when a woman in Zhuhai, Guangdong poured her husband's poisonous dog medicine into the sewer for destruction, the poisonous gas was produced due to the volatilization of the medicine with water, and the woman died of accidental poisoning.
The local environmental protection department has tested the quality of nearby water, and the details of the case are still under investigation.
This matter aroused heated discussions in the society.
Some netizens questioned, what kind of poisonous dog drug is so toxic?
Why are such highly toxic drugs so easily obtained?
The reporter of "Rule of Law Daily" combed through the website of referee documents and public information and learned that the common poisonous drugs for dogs mainly include succinylcholine chloride and cyanide.
The former is a highly toxic chemical that reacts with water and may produce highly toxic gases such as hydrogen cyanide; the latter is a muscle relaxant that mainly acts on the human respiratory muscles. died of spontaneous breathing.
According to my country's current "Catalogue of Hazardous Chemicals", ammonia concentration exceeding 10% is a hazardous chemical.
Hydrogen peroxide solutions with a concentration of more than 8% are also hazardous chemicals, and according to the "List of Explosive Hazardous Chemicals" published by the Ministry of Public Security in 2017, such hydrogen peroxide solutions are also classified as explosive hazardous chemicals.
The reporter's investigation found that some e-commerce platforms openly sell dangerous chemicals such as solutions with a concentration of ammonia water exceeding 10% and high-concentration hydrogen peroxide, as well as poisonous items such as rat poison and pesticides without a license.
Some overseas social platforms have even established transportation channels for highly toxic substances, through which individuals can buy highly toxic drugs such as paraquat and oxygen breaking toxin.
Interviewed experts pointed out that personal storage and sale of highly toxic chemicals and precursor chemicals are illegal, which not only disrupts the order of market management, but also poses serious safety hazards.
If the circumstances are serious enough to constitute a crime, criminal responsibility may be investigated.
It is recommended that relevant departments work together to strengthen the supervision of the entire chain of Internet sales of hazardous chemicals to protect the lives of the people.
The store lacks operating qualifications
Individuals buy dangerous chemicals at will
On February 18, the reporter searched for keywords such as "poisonous dog medicine", "poisonous dog needle", succinylcholine chloride, cyanide and other keywords on the webpage and multiple online shopping platforms, but found no related products, but other dangerous chemicals After searching as a keyword, you can still see some e-commerce platforms selling them publicly.
In an online store for the supply of chemical preparations, the reporter found that the concentrations of the various solutions it sold were not marked. The customer service said that if you want to buy, you can add friends and send pictures for confirmation.
After adding friends, the customer service told the reporter that the concentration of ammonia water can reach up to 28%. If you want, you can directly take a link in the store, and deliver the goods according to the concentration agreed by both parties to ensure direct delivery from the factory.
There are also many merchants selling hydrogen peroxide crystals (commonly known as hydrogen peroxide), and some people in the product evaluation area claim that they have independently configured high-concentration hydrogen peroxide.
According to the "Regulations on the Safety Management of Hazardous Chemicals", there are clear regulations on the production, operation, storage, transportation, use and disposal of hazardous chemicals.
According to the requirements of the regulations, the state implements a licensing system for the operation of hazardous chemicals, including warehousing operations. Without a license, no unit or individual may operate hazardous chemicals.
In addition, when operators sell explosive precursors, they are not allowed to sell to units that do not have relevant licenses or certification documents, and are prohibited from selling explosive precursors to individuals.
However, the reporter noticed that although some online shops selling chemical preparations were called "XX Chemical Reagent Store", "XX Chemical Technology" and "XX Sales Department", they did not disclose the qualifications of the merchants, and there was no registration in the basic information of the stores. information.
Moreover, in the commodity evaluation area, it can be seen that many individuals have purchased such chemical preparations.
Taking a certain platform as an example, the statements made by the stores selling chemical reagents that settled there are "According to the provisions of the "E-Commerce Law of the People's Republic of China" and the "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Online Transactions", the situations that do not require the registration of market entities include: Individuals Selling self-produced agricultural and sideline products, household handicraft products, individuals using their own skills to engage in convenient labor services and sporadic small-value transactions that do not require a license according to law, and situations that do not require registration according to laws and administrative regulations.
This means that the sale of general chemical agents and even dangerous chemicals is not included.
The reporter consulted the official customer service of the platform, and the answer was that the reporter did not buy related products, and the question could not be answered.
After repeated inquiries by the reporter, the other party indicated that they would arrange special personnel to carry out the docking, but the final reply was "the one with the certificate is qualified for registration", "it is recommended to compare and place orders in multiple stores", etc.
In addition to dangerous chemicals, the reporter found that poisonous items such as rat poison and pesticides can also be bought on e-commerce platforms.
According to relevant regulations, rodenticide products involving 8 active ingredients of restricted pesticides are not allowed to be sold on the Internet, and the use of the Internet to operate restricted pesticides is prohibited. Can be sold on the Internet.
As in the case of hazardous chemicals, many shops did not publish the relevant qualification certificates, nor did they conduct qualification verification to buyers in accordance with regulations.
On overseas social platforms, the reporter found that there are many hidden transportation channels for highly toxic substances, and "poisons" that people talk about, such as paraquat, oxygen-breaking toxin, and aflatoxin, are all sold on the platform.
When the reporter asked a seller whether there were highly toxic substances such as sodium cyanide, the other party immediately sent a picture of a 5ml sodium cyanide medicine bottle with a label next to it saying "10ml is suitable for euthanasia of pets weighing less than 100 catties, easily soluble in Water, liquid, containing narcotics and hypnotics", a bottle costs about 1,200 yuan.
According to the seller, the sources of highly toxic items he sells are all hospitals, and the transportation process is guaranteed to be no problem.
"There was a period of strict investigation last year, but nothing has happened since it returned to normal in December."
Illegal for personal storage and sale
Platform responsibility cannot be absent
Highly toxic chemicals and precursor chemicals are dangerous substances strictly regulated by the state. The "Regulations on the Safety Management of Hazardous Chemicals" and "Regulations on the Management of Precursor Chemicals" clearly stipulate that the storage of highly toxic chemicals and precursor chemicals should be In special warehouses, special places or special storage rooms, and be managed by special personnel; highly toxic chemicals and other dangerous chemicals whose storage quantity constitutes a major source of danger shall be stored separately in special warehouses, and a two-person delivery and two-person storage system shall be implemented. .
The storage methods, methods and quantities of hazardous chemicals shall comply with national standards or relevant national regulations.
Hu Yunyun, deputy director of the Criminal Legal Affairs Department of Beijing Yinghe Law Firm, told reporters that personal storage and sale of highly toxic chemicals and precursor chemicals are illegal, which not only disrupts the order of market management, but also poses serious safety hazards.
According to the "Regulations on the Safety Management of Hazardous Chemicals", the "Regulations on the Management of Precursor Chemicals", the Public Security Management Punishment Law, the Criminal Law and other relevant laws and regulations, the safety production supervision and management department shall order violators to stop illegal activities and impose fines on them. If there is any illegal income, the illegal income shall be confiscated; if the circumstances are serious enough to constitute a crime, criminal responsibility may also be investigated for crimes such as the crime of illegally manufacturing, trading, transporting, and storing dangerous substances, the crime of illegally buying and selling drugs, and the crime of polluting the environment.
"According to relevant laws and regulations such as the Consumer Protection Law and the E-commerce Law, the online trading platform has the obligation of qualification review, supervision and management, and information disclosure obligations for operators on the platform. If the above obligations are not fulfilled, hazardous chemicals, Anyone who trades precursor chemicals at will may face suspension of business for rectification and a fine of up to 2 million yuan. In addition, if the e-commerce platform knowingly does so, it may be suspected of joint crimes; if it is gross negligence, negligence , but also bear corresponding responsibilities; if the e-commerce platform knows and does not act after the event, it may have to bear joint and several liabilities for expanding its influence." Hu Yunyun said.
With such strict management, why are these items still illegally purchased online?
According to Xie Shu, an associate professor at the School of Criminal Justice of China University of Political Science and Law, the main reasons are: on the one hand, the supervision of online sales channels is insufficient, and the supervision and inspection by departments responsible for the safety supervision and management of hazardous chemicals are often concentrated in offline channels. , and there is a blind spot in the supervision of online channels; on the other hand, some buyers do not understand that the purchase of dangerous substances may also involve crimes.
"The Supreme People's Court issued Case No. 13 of the fourth batch of guiding cases, and the illegal trading and storage of dangerous substances such as Wang Moumou made it clear that the "illegal trading" of toxic substances stipulated in the second paragraph of Article 125 of the Criminal Law , refers to the act of purchasing or selling toxic substances without the approval of the relevant competent department in violation of the law and the regulations of the competent state department. The qualifications and conditions of substances violate the relevant national regulatory regulations, illegally trade and store a large amount of highly toxic chemicals, evade the safety supervision and management of relevant competent departments, and disrupt the management order of hazardous chemicals, which has caused serious damage to the lives, health and property safety of the people. The actual threat is enough to endanger public safety and constitute the crime of illegal trading and storage of dangerous substances." Xie Shu said.
Xie Shu also reminded that highly toxic substances require professional and strict destruction procedures. If they are held by individuals, they should contact the safety management department in time for disposal or destruction.
In case of dispersal, leakage, etc., it shall be reported to the local public security organ.
After receiving the report, the public security organ shall immediately notify the production safety supervision and management department, the environmental protection department, and the health department according to the actual situation.
Relevant departments should take necessary emergency response measures.
If the abandonment and destruction of highly toxic substances cause damage to the safety of others or social property, criminal or civil liability needs to be clarified based on the specific case and the subjective and objective aspects of the perpetrator.
"Online + offline" dual supervision
Clarify the standard by interpreting the law
How to control hazardous chemicals, precursor chemicals and other toxic or even highly toxic substances?
Hu Yunyun believes that source control and comprehensive management should be done well.
Relevant departments at all levels should further increase the publicity of laws, regulations, standards and norms related to the safety of hazardous chemicals to improve the safety awareness of the masses.
"It is necessary to strengthen the supervision of the entire chain of Internet sales of hazardous chemicals, and the corresponding competent departments shall take their own responsibilities, strengthen the safety supervision and inspection of Internet information release and sales accounts of hazardous chemical production and operation enterprises, and crack down on unlicensed sales of hazardous chemicals in accordance with the law; Strengthen the supervision and management of Internet information content, timely clean up information on the illegal purchase and sale of hazardous chemicals online, dispose of illegal accounts according to law, strengthen coordination and linkage, and conduct legal and regulatory compliance against websites and apps that are identified as releasing information on the sale of hazardous chemicals without authorization or beyond the scope of permission. Deal with it; strengthen the supervision and management of network operators, investigate and deal with network operators who fail to perform network security protection and other obligations in accordance with the law, urge e-commerce platforms to implement their main responsibilities, clean up dangerous chemical information released in violation of regulations on the platform, and remove related products.” Hu Yunyun said.
Xie Shu suggested that the departments responsible for the safety supervision and management of hazardous chemicals should conduct supervision and inspection according to law, but the supervision should be systematic and avoid "going it alone".
For example, online and offline simultaneous supervision is required, administrative departments and judicial authorities are required to coordinate supervision, and when necessary, safety production supervision and management departments, environmental protection departments, and health departments are required to coordinate supervision.
At the same time, the judiciary should make good use of guiding cases or typical cases to "interpret the law with cases" and clarify the criteria for incrimination.
"Rule of Law Daily" February 21, 2023, version 04