Dec 07, 2016 06:32 PM

China Orders Dangerous Chemical Producers Out of 'Thickly Populated' Areas

Dozens of massive explosions at chemical warehouses on Aug. 12, 2015, in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality filled the sky with smoke and turned a parking lot of new cars into a pile of charred remains. Photo: IC

(Beijing) — China has ordered hazardous chemical producers to move out of "densely populated" areas into dedicated industrial parks by the end of 2019, in the aftermath of a number of deadly accidents in recent years.

The State Council, China's cabinet, issued a set of guidelines on Tuesday to control errant chemical manufacturers and dealers. Under the new rules, several government agencies, led by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, will push forward a plan to relocate hazardous chemical factories out of populous areas within the next three years.