Promulgation Authorities:  State Council

Promulgation Date:  2019.03.02

Effective Date:  2019.03.02

Validity Status:  valid

Measures of the People's Republic of China on Supervision of Sanitation at Frontier Ports (Revised in 2019)

Measures of the People's Republic of China on Supervision of Sanitation at Frontier Ports (Revised in 2019)

(Approved by the State Council on December 30, 1981 and promulgated by the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Transport, the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China and the Ministry of Railways on February 4, 1982, revised for the first time in accordance with the Decision of the State Council on Abolishing or Amending Some Administrative Regulations of January 8, 2011 and revised on the second time in accordance with the Decision of the State Council on Amending Some Administrative Regulations on March 2, 2019)

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1    These Measures are enacted for the purpose of strengthening sanitation  supervision at frontier ports and international navigational means of transport, improving sanitation conditions at frontier ports and means of transport, controlling and eliminating sources of infection, cutting off routes of transmission, preventing infectious diseases from spreading into and out of the country and safeguarding the health of the people.

Article 2    These Measures shall apply to ports, airports, railway stations and gateways (hereinafter referred to as frontier ports) open to the outside world as well as ships, aircraft and vehicles for international navigation (hereinafter referred to as means of transport) staying at these places.

Chapter II Sanitary Requirements at Frontier Ports

Article 3    It is imperative to establish a sanitary cleaning system at the frontier port, eliminate mosquito and fly breeding sites, set up waste containers, clean them regularly and keep the environment clean.

Article 4    Domestic waste at frontier ports shall be cleared every day, and fixed dump sites shall be established, which shall be cleaned up regularly. Domestic sewage shall not be discharged arbitrarily and shall be treated harmlessly so as to prevent pollution to the environment and water sources.

Article 5    The departments concerned shall take practical and feasible measures to control the number of insects and rodents that are disease vectors in the buildings of frontier ports so as to reduce their numbers to a level that is not likely to cause harm.

Article 6    For the waiting rooms for ships, airport lounges, waiting rooms for vehicles and waiting rooms for inspection, the floors should be clean; the walls should be free of dust; the windows should be clean; they shall be well ventilated and equipped with necessary sanitary  facilities.

Article 7    The restaurants, canteens, kitchens and tuck shops at frontier ports shall establish a sound sanitation system. They shall be kept clean and tidy at all times, and it shall be ensured that the walls, ceilings, tables and chairs are clean and free of dust. There should be anti-mosquito, anti-fly, anti-rat and refrigeration equipment to ensure that there are no mosquitoes, flies, rats or cockroaches in the room.

Article 8    Toilets and bathhouses at frontier ports shall be managed by special personnel, cleaned promptly, kept clean and free of flies and odor-free.

Article 9    Warehouses and freight yards at frontier ports shall be kept clean and tidy; any abnormal death of rodents shall be reported to the health and quarantine organ or the local health and epidemic prevention and control department without delay.

Article 10    Water sources at frontier ports shall be well preserved. Toilets, seepage wells and other facilities that pollute water sources shall not be built within 30 meters in diameter around the water sources.

Chapter III Sanitary Requirements for the Means of Transport

Article 11    The means of transport must be equipped with first-aid drugs, first-aid equipment and disinfectants, insecticides and rodenticides. If necessary, temporary isolation rooms shall be arranged on board the ship.

Article 12    Control of insects and rodents that are disease vectors on the means of transport:

(1) Ships, aircraft and trains shall be equipped with a sufficient number of effective anti-rodent devices; and it is required to maintain the state of no rats or to the extent that the number of rodents is not likely to cause harm; and

(2) It shall be free of mosquitoes, flies or other harmful insects, and shall take measures for killing them once found.

Article 13    Toilets and bathrooms on the means of transport shall be kept clean and odor-free.

Article 14    Sanitary requirements for the disposal of feces, waste and sewage on the means of transport:

(1) Domestic waste shall be collected in containers with lids and shall not be dumped at will in port, airport or station areas. It shall be sent to designated places by special vehicles (ships) for harmless treatment. If necessary, feces and sewage shall be subject to sanitation disposal before discharge; and

(2) The solid waste on the means of transport from the plague epidemic area shall be incinerated, and the feces, ballast water and sewage on the means of transport from the cholera epidemic area shall be disinfected if necessary.

Article 15    Sanitary requirements for cargo holds, luggage carts, mail cars and freight cars of the means of transport:

(1) Insects such as mosquitoes, flies, cockroaches and rats that are disease vectors and harmful animals as well as conditions for their breeding shall be eliminated from cargo holds, luggage carts, mail cars and freight vehicles; before loading or after unloading, a thorough cleaning is needed to achieve no feces or waste;

(2) Goods vehicles carrying toxic substances and food shall be stored separately in designated places to prevent contamination, and the goods shall be thoroughly washed after being unloaded; and

(3) Luggage and goods from epidemic areas shall be strictly inspected to prevent insects and rodents that are disease vectors.

Article 16    Sanitary requirements for passenger cabins, accommodation cabins and passenger cars on the means of transport:

(1) Passenger cabins, accommodation cabins and passenger cars shall be scrubbed at all times, kept free of waste or dust and well ventilated; and

(2) Bedding shall be changed after each use. No lice, fleas, bedbugs and other disease vector insects shall be found on bedding.

Chapter IV Sanitary Requirements for Food, Drinking Water and Employees

Article 17    Food supplied at frontier ports and on the means of transport shall conform to the provisions regulated in the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China and food safety standards.

Article 18    Drinking water supplied to frontier ports and the means of transport shall conform to the national sanitary standards for drinking water. Transport vehicles, storage containers and water pipes that supply drinking water should be washed and kept clean regularly.

Article 19    Sanitary requirements of employees who supply food and drinking water:

(1) Patients suffering from intestinal infectious diseases or carriers as well as patients with active tuberculosis and suppurative exudative skin diseases shall not be engaged in food and drinking water supply work;

(2) Persons engaged in the supply of food and drinking water shall undergo medical examination once a year; persons newly engaged in work shall undergo medical examination first, and those who pass the examination shall be issued a health certificate; and

(3) Personnel engaged in the supply of food and drinking water shall form good sanitation habits, dress neatly while working, and strictly observe the sanitation operation rules.

Chapter V Responsibilities of Persons in Charge of Frontier Ports and the Means of Transport

Article 20    The persons in charge of frontier ports and the means of transport shall have the following responsibilities in respect of public health:

(1) To effectively deal with the public health work on a regular basis, accept the supervision and inspection of the public health supervision personnel, and provide convenient conditions for them to carry out their work;

(2) To observe these Measures and other health decrees, regulations and provisions in an exemplary way;

(3) To timely take measures to improve the unsanitary conditions at frontier ports and on the means of transport in accordance with the recommendations of health supervisors; and

(4) Upon discovery of a quarantinable infectious disease or monitoring of an infectious disease, to report to the frontier health and quarantine organ or local epidemic prevention and control department and take immediate anti-epidemic measures.

Chapter VI Functions and Duties of Health Supervision Organs

Article 21    Frontier port health and quarantine organs shall exercise health supervision over frontier ports and the means of transport. Their main duties shall be:

(1) To supervise and guide the departments concerned at frontier ports and persons in charge of the means of transport in the prevention and control of insects and rodents that are disease vectors;

(2) To inspect the food and drinking water on board the means of transport staying at the frontier port to enter or leave the frontier, and to supervise the sanitation of such systems as transport, supply and storage facilities;

(3) To inspect, supervise and sanitize all dead bodies at frontier ports and on the means of transport that have not died from accidental injuries;

(4) To supervise the departments concerned at the frontier port and the persons in charge of the means of transport in the cleaning up and harmless treatment of feces, waste and sewage;

(5) To exercise health supervision over environmental factors that have epidemiological significance with quarantinable infectious diseases and monitored infectious diseases;

(6) To supervise the implementation of anti-mosquito measures around the frontier port; and

(7) To carry out health publicity and education, popularize health knowledge and raise the consciousness of personnel at frontier ports and on the means of transport to observe and implement these Measures.

Article 22    The frontier port health and quarantine organ shall have one to five frontier port health supervisors who shall perform the tasks of health supervision and shall be issued law enforcement certificates of uniform style.

Article 23    Frontier port health supervisors shall, on the strength of their certificates, have the right to conduct health supervision, inspection and technical guidance over the persons in charge of the frontier port and the means of transport; they shall also cooperate with relevant departments, put forward suggestions for improvement on entities or individuals with poor sanitary  conditions or causing the spread of infectious diseases, and coordinate with relevant departments to take necessary measures for disposal.

Chapter VII Rewards and Punishments

Article 24    The frontier port health and quarantine organ shall praise and reward entities and individuals that have made outstanding achievements in implementing these Measures and relevant State health laws, regulations and provisions.

Article 25    The frontier port health and quarantine organ shall, in light of different circumstances, give warnings or fines to entities or individuals that violate these Measures and other relevant health decrees, regulations and provisions, until they are referred to the judicial organ for punishment according to law.

Chapter VIII Supplementary Provision

Article 26    These Measures shall come into force on the date of promulgation.