On Sep 17th, the Ministry of Environmental (MEP) Protection opened public consultation on the Draft of Pollutants Emission Standard of Petroleum Industry (the Draft). The consultation window will be closed on Oct 8th.
The petroleum industry is hugely significant to the Chinese economy but brings with it potential for serious adverse environmental impact. At present there is no specific pollutants emission standard for the petroleum industry in China. The industry just refers to non-specific national standards for waste water and air pollutants. The draft standard is designed to fill this regulatory gap.
The emission standard will apply to industrial enterprises and production facilities that manufacture organic chemicals, synthetic resin, synthetic fiber, synthetic rubber from petroleum fractionation and natural gas production byproducts. The draft specifies the emission concentration limits of air and aquatic pollutants and the corresponding supervision requirements. For aquatic requirements, concentration limits of all 22 common pollutants are specified, including phosphorus, lead, arsenic, mercury, chromium and so on. Air requirements also include common pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitric oxide and VOCs.
Some of the concentration limits specified will be similar to the emission standards of China’s global counterparts. If the draft is passed successfully it will also influence the assessment of industrial constructions, production facility design and environmental evaluations.
