Article 71 On receiving the report on an accident, the department in charge of supervision and control over work safety shall, in accordance with relevant State regulations, report the accident immediately to the higher authority. No department in charge of supervision and control over work safety and relevant local people’s government may conceal the facts of the accident or make a false report or delay the report of the accident.

Article 72 On receiving the report of a major accident due to lack of work safety, leading members of the local people’s government concerned and of the department in charge of supervision and control over work safety shall immediately rush to the scene of the accident to arrange rescue operation.

All units and individuals shall assist in and cooperate with the efforts for rescue and provide all possible conveniences.

Article 73 In investigation and handling of an accident, the principles of seeking truth from facts and setting store by scientific approaches shall be applied in order to find out the accurate causes of the accident in a timely manner, make clear the nature of and responsibility for the accident, draw a lesson from it, formulate rectification measures and put forward suggestions for dealing with the person responsible for the accident. Specific measures for investigation into and handling of accidents shall be formulated by the State Council.

Article 74 Where an accident that occurs in a production and business unit is determined, through investigation, on due to negligence of duty, in addition to finding out the liability to be undertaken by the unit and investigating it in accordance with law, the liability to be undertaken by the administrative departments in charge of examination and approval of and supervision over matters related to work safety matters shall also be ascertained and the persons who are negligent or derelict of their duties shall be investigated for their legal responsibility according to the provisions in Article 77 of this Law.

Article 75 No unit or individual may obstruct or interfere with the lawful investigation into and handling of the accidents.

Article 76 Departments in charge of supervision and control over work safety under the local people’s governments at or above the county level shall regularly prepare statistics and make analysis of accidents due to lack of work safety that have occurred within their own administrative areas and publish the information regularly.

Chapter VI Legal Responsibility

Article 77 Where a staff member of the department in charge of supervision and control over work safety commits one of the following acts, he shall be demoted or discharged from his post as an administrative penalty; if the act constitutes a crime, he shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to the provisions in the Criminal Law:

(1) giving approval or authorize acceptance to matters related to work safety that do not meet the statutory conditions for work safety;

(2) failing to outlaw or deal with, in accordance with law, units after discovering that they are engaged in relevant activities without obtaining approval or being qualified for acceptance in accordance with law or after receiving reports thereof; and

(3) failing to perform his duty of supervision and control over the units that have obtained approval in accordance with law, to cancel the approval given to the units that he finds no longer to possess the conditions for work safety, or to investigate and deal with violations of work safety regulations.

Article 78 Where a department in charge of supervision and control over work safety requires that the unit under examination and check for acceptance purchase the work safety equipment, devices or other products it designates, or charges fees for examining or checking for acceptance matters related to work safety, the authority at a higher level or a supervisory organization shall order it to put it right or return the fees collected; if the circumstances are serious, the persons directly in charge and the other persons directly responsible shall be given administrative sanctions in accordance with law.

Article 79 Where an organization in charge of assessment, authentication, testing and inspection related to work safety produces false certificates, if it constitutes a crime, the organization shall be investigated for criminal responsibility in accordance with the relevant provisions in the Criminal Law; if the case is not serious enough for criminal punishment, the illegal gains shall be confiscated; if the illegal gains exceed RMB 5,000 yuan, it, in addition, be fined not less than two times but not more than five times the amount of the illegal gains; if there are not illegal gains or the illegal gains are less than 5,000 yuan, it shall only, or in addition, be fined not less than 5,000 yuan but not more than 20,000 yuan, and the persons directly in charge and the persons directly responsible shall be fined not less than 5,000 yuan but not more than 50,000 yuan. If damages are inflicted on other persons, the organization shall bear joint and several liability to pay compensation for the damages with production or business units.

Organizations that commit violations mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be qualified accordingly.

Article 80 Any decision-making body, principal leading member of a production or business unit or individual investor that fails to guarantee, in accordance with the provisions of this Law, the funds for input essential to work safety, thus resulting in the lack of conditions for work safety, the production or business unit shall be ordered to set it right by providing the necessary amount of funds within a specified time limit. If it is not set right on the expiration of the time limit, the production or business unit shall be ordered to suspend production or business operation for shake-up.

Where the violation, as mentioned in the preceding paragraph, is committed, which leads to the occurrence of an accident due to lack of work safety, if it constitutes a crime, criminal responsibility shall be investigated in accordance with the provisions in the Criminal Law. If it is not serious enough for criminal punishment, the principal leading member of the production or business unit shall be discharged from his post, and the individual investor shall be fined not less than 20,000 yuan but not more than 200,000 yuan.

Article 81 Where the principal leading member of a production or business unit fails to perform his duty for control over work safety as provided for in this Law, he shall be ordered to set it right within a time limit. If he fails to do so on the expiration of the time limit, the production or business unit shall be ordered to suspend production or business operation for shake-up.

The principal leading member of a production and business unit who commits the violation of as mentioned in the preceding paragraph, which leads to the occurrence of an accident due to lack of work safety, if it constitutes a crime, shall be investigated for criminal responsibility in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Law. If it is not serious enough for criminal punishment, he shall be discharged from his post or be fined not less than 20,000 yuan but 200,000 yuan.

The principal leading member of a production or business unit on whom a criminal punishment is imposed or who is discharged from his post in accordance with the provisions in the preceding paragraph, he may not, within five years starting from the date on which the time for criminal punishment is served or the date on which he is discharged, work as a principal leading member in any production or business unit.

Article 82 Any production or business unit that commits one of the following acts shall be ordered to set it right within a time limit, if it fails to do so on the expiration of the time limit, it shall be ordered to suspend production or business operation for shake-up and may, in addition, be fined not more than 20,000 yuan:

(1) failing to set up an organization, or to be manned with persons, for the control of work safety, as required by regulations;

(2) in the case of the principal leading member or the person for control over work safety in a unit that manufactures, markets or stores dangerous articles or in a mine or construction unit, failing to pass the qualification examinations as required by regulations;

(3) failing to conduct, among its employees, education and training in work safety according to the provisions in Articles 21 and 22 of this Law, or failing to truthfully inform the employees of the matters relating to work safety according to the provisions in Article 36 of this Law; and

(4) assigning to special posts workers who have not received special training in safe operation or obtained qualification certificates for special posts, as required by regulations.

Article 83 Any production or business unit that commits one of the following acts shall be ordered to set it right within a time limit; if it fails to do so on the expiration of the time limit, it shall be ordered to suspend construction and may, in addition, be fined not more than 50,000 yuan; if serious consequences are entailed and thus a crime is constituted, the unit shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to relevant provisions in the Criminal Law:

(1) where the designs of safety facilities of construction projects for mines or construction projects for the manufacture or storage of dangerous articles are lacking or such designs are not submitted to the relevant departments for examination and approval, as required by relevant regulations;

(2) where the construction unit for the construction projects for a mine or the construction projects for the manufacture and storage of dangerous articles fails to construct the project according to the approved design of safety facilities;

(3) where the construction project for a mine or the construction project for the manufacture and storage of dangerous articles are completed for putting into production or to use before the safety facilities pass the check for acceptance;

(4) where no conspicuous safety precaution signs are posted in production and business places and at relevant facilities and equipment where the factors of relatively grave danger exist;

(5) where the safety equipment is not installed, used, tested, renovated or abandoned in compliance with national standards or industrial specifications;

(6) where the safety equipment is not constantly maintained or served or regularly tested;

(7) where no work protection gears that are up to national standards or industrial specifications are provided to employees;

(8) where special equipment and containers and transport vehicles for dangerous articles put to use without passing the test or check conducted by professionally qualified authorities and without safety use certificates or safety tags issued; and

(9) where techniques and equipment threatening work safety which are eliminated and the use of which is prohibited by State decrees are used.

Article 84 Any unit that, without obtaining approval in accordance with law, produces, markets or stores dangerous articles shall be ordered to desist from the violation or it shall be closed down, its illegal gains shall be confiscated; if the illegal gains exceed 100,000 yuan, it shall, in addition, be fined not less than the amount of the illegal gains but not more than five times the amount; if there are no illegal gains or the illegal gains are less than 100,000 yuan, it shall be only, or in addition, be fined not less than 20,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan; if serious consequences are entailed and a crime is thus constituted, it shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to the relevant provisions in the Criminal Law.

Article 85 Any production or business unit that commits one of the following acts shall be ordered to set it right within a time limit; if it fails to do so on the expiration of the time limit, it shall be ordered to suspend production or business operation for shake-up and, in addition, it may be fined not less than 20,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan; if serious consequences are entailed and a crime is thus constituted, it shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to the relevant provisions in the Criminal Law:

(1) failing to establish a special system for safety control, or adopt reliable safety measures for the manufacture, marketing, storage or use of dangerous articles, or refusing to accept supervision and control exercises by competent departments in accordance with law;

(2) failing to have the sources of major danger recorded and have the records kept on file, or failing to make assessment and exercise control, or failing to make exigency plans; and

(3) when carrying out dangerous operations such as blasting and hoisting, failing to send special persons to the site to ensure safety.

Article 86 Any production or business unit that contracts out or leases production or business projects, work places or equipment to units or individuals that do not possess the conditions for work safety or the necessary qualifications shall be ordered to set it right within a time limit and its illegal gains shall be confiscated; if the illegal gains exceed 50,000 yuan, it shall, in addition, be fined not less than the amount of the illegal gains but not more than five times the amount; if there are no illegal gains or the illegal gains are less than 50,000 yuan; it shall only, or in addition, be fined not less than 10,000 yuan but not more than 50,000 yuan; if accident due to lack of work safety occurs as a result, which causes damages to another person, the unit shall bear the joint and several liability for the damages together with the contractors or leasees.

If the production or business unit fails to sign a special agreement on work safety control with each of the contractors or leasees, if it fails to have the responsibilities of each party for work safety control specified in the contract, or if it fails to conduct overall coordination and management among the contractors or leasees in respect of work safety, it shall be ordered to set it right within a time limit; if it fails to do so on the expiration of the rime limit, it shall be ordered to suspend production or business operation for shake-up.

Article 87 Where two or more production or business units are conducting production or business activities within the same work zone, which presents potential dangers to each other’s work safety, if they fail to sign an agreement on work safety control or to assign full-time persons for control over work safety to conduct safety inspection and coordination, they shall be ordered to set it right within a time limit; if they fail to do so on the expiration of the time limit, they shall be ordered to suspend production or business operation.

Article 88 Any production or business unit that commits one of the following acts shall be ordered to set it right within a time limit; if it fails to do so on the expiration of the time limit, it shall be ordered to suspend production or business operation for shake-up; if consequences are entailed and thus a crime is constituted, it shall be investigated for criminal responsibility in accordance with the relevant provisions in the Criminal Law:

(1) having workshops, stores or warehouses where dangerous articles are manufactured, marketed, stored or used share the same building with the employees’ living quarters or the distance between these structures and the employees’ living quarters is not up to the requirements for safety;

(2) failing to have exits at manufacturing and marketing places or in the living quarters of employees, exits that meet the requirements for emergency evacuation are indicated clearly and kept unobstructed, or having the exits there sealed or blocked.

Article 89 Where a production or business unit signs an agreement with its employees in an attempt to relieve itself of, or lighten, the responsibilities it should bear in accordance with law for the employees who are injured or killed as a result of accidents due to lack of work safety, such an agreements shall be invalid, and the principal leading member of the unit and the individual investor shall be fined not less than 20,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan.

Article 90 Where an employee of a production or business unit refuses to subject himself to supervision, violating work safety rules and regulations or operation instructions, the said production or business unit shall criticize him by way of education and take disciplinary action against him in accordance with relevant rules and regulations; if the violation results in grievous accidents and thus constitutes a crime, he shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to the relevant provisions in the Criminal Law.