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In July 2021, a home design enterprise was found illegally using solvent-based paints with high VOCs emissions by the enforcement officers from the Tongzhou Ecological Environment Bureau of Nantong City, Jiangsu Province, violating the environmental assessment approval requirements that the waster-based coatings and low-VOCs (VOCs-free) adhesives shall be used.
According to Article 46 of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution, which was modified in 2018, “Industrial coating enterprises should use paints with low volatile organic compounds content, and establish a ledger to record the use, waste, whereabouts and volatile organic compounds content of production raw materials and auxiliary materials” (ChemLinked News [1]). For the violation of the enterprise, according to the provisions of Article 108, Paragraph 1, Item 2 of this law, the Bureau of Ecology and Environment has filed a case to investigate and deal with the companies involved and fined 88,860 CNY. This is the first case in Nantong city on the source control of VOCs.
In summer, ozone pollution has become the main factor affecting the air quality in the local area, and VOCs are considered as the main precursors of ozone generation. In order to continuously improve the air quality, since this year, the Tongzhou Ecological Environment Bureau has organized several rounds of special atmospheric inspections, especially focusing on the key industries that emit volatile organic compounds such as industrial coating, packaging and printing, furniture manufacturing, textile printing and dyeing, etc. Environmental violations such as production and service activities that produce exhaust gas containing VOCs, production not carried out in a confined space or equipment, and failure to install and use exhaust gas pollution prevention facilities in accordance with the regulations, etc. are severely punished. This case is the first time that the source control of VOCs has been investigated and dealt with, filling the gap in law enforcement for source control.
Zhang Jian, Director of the Bureau of Ecology and Environment, said that in the next step, Tongzhou will take a variety of measures. By the end of this year, the district will initially establish a mechanism for the replacement of water-based and other low-VOC content paints, inks, adhesives, and other clean raw materials. All other related enterprises in China shall recognize this case in Tongzhou as an early warning and take actions to control VOCs from the source.
