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Editor's Note: This article was originally published in August 2023 to analyze the public consultation on the proposal to designate 11 chemicals as toxic and hazardous water pollutants, and was updated on 30 June 2025 to introduce the finalized decision.
On June 24, 2025, the MEE published the List of Toxic and Hazardous Water Pollutants (2nd Batch), adopting the draft proposal put forward in 2023. The table below lists the newly designated water pollutants, which are screened out based on the Catalogue of Priority Control Chemicals.
Pollutant Name | CAS Number | |
1 | Thallium and thallium compounds | 7440-28-0 (thallium) |
2 | Cyanides | - |
3 | Pentachlorophenol and pentachlorophenol sodium | 87-86-5; 131-52-2 |
4 | Benzene | 71-43-2 |
5 | Toluene | 108-88-3 |
6 | Nitrobenzene substances, including 2,4-Dinitrotoluene | 121-14-2 |
7 | Aniline substances, including o-Toluidine | 95-53-4 |
8 | 1,1-Dichloroethylene | 75-35-4 |
9 | Hexachlorobutadiene | 87-68-3 |
10 | Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon substances, including: Benzo[a]anthracene Benzo[a]pyrene Benzo[a]pyrene Benzo[b]fluoranthene Benzo[k]fluoranthene Anthracene Dibenz[a,h]anthracene |
56-55-3 218-01-9 50-32-8 205-99-2 207-08-9 120-12-7 53-70-3 |
11 | Dioxin substances, including polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans | - |
Enterprises which emit the abovementioned chemicals should comply with relevant obligations under the Law on Prevention and Control of Water Pollution, including:
Monitoring the sewage outlets and surrounding environment;
Assessing environmental risks;
Identifying hidden perils;
Disclosing water pollutants information; and
Taking effective measures for environmental risk prevention.
The official announcement can be accessed here.
Previous article in 2023:
On August 4, 2023, the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) opened a public consultation on the Draft List of Toxic and Hazardous Water Pollutants (2nd Batch) (hereinafter referred to as the Draft List). It includes 11 types of chemicals. Among them, 9 are organic chemicals and 2 are heavy metals and inorganic compounds (see table below). Comments are welcome before September 5, 2023.
The Draft List can be accessed here, providing an annex of domestic and international water quality standard limits/reference values for these proposed 11 toxic and harmful water pollutants.
Background
The Catalogue of Priority Control Chemicals is a reference for designating toxic and hazardous pollutants in water, air, or soil. The first batch of toxic and hazardous water pollutants was released in 2019, which includes 10 types of chemicals. More water pollutants will be designated, prioritizing chemicals that are persistent, bioaccumulative or have great hazards to the aquatic environment and human health.
