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After issuing the List of New Pollutants for Priority Management on December 30, 2022, China MEE was asked about the background for formulating such a list, its contents and implementation issues. Here are the questions having been answered by the official from the Solid Waste and Chemicals Department of MEE and published on the MEE website on January 13, 2023.
New pollutants refer to toxic and hazardous substances that are discharged into the environment with characteristics of biological toxicity, environmental persistence and bioaccumulation, etc. They tend to possess significant risks to the ecological environment or human health, but are usually unregulated or the existing regulation measures are insufficient. As one of the largest chemical producers in the world, it is paramount for China to strengthen the regulation of new pollutants to mitigate potential risks to the environment and human health.
The Party and State Council attach great importance to the regulation of new pollutants. For example, the Opinions on Firmly Winning the Battle of Preventing and Controlling Environmental Pollution set a major goal to significantly enhance the ability to control new pollutants and highlight the importance of stricter source control. In May 2022, The General Office of the State Council issued the Action Plan for the Treatment of New Pollutants to make a comprehensive deployment of the new pollutants control work and further clarified the requirement to release the first batch of new pollutants for priority management in 2022.
To thoroughly study and implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of CCP, carry out the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on the control of new pollutants, comprehensively implement the decision-making deployed by Central Committee and the State Council, MEE jointly formulated the List with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce, the General Administration of Customs, and the State Administration for Market Regulation. It follows the concept of environmental risk management throughout the life cycle, scientifically screens and evaluates the environmental risks of toxic and hazardous chemicals, identifies new pollutants that require priority management, and establishes a comprehensive management system to deepen the battle of preventing and controlling environmental pollution.
The List consists of the main text and appendix.
The main text includes six sections: compilation basis, compilation principles, management measures, departmental responsibilities, dynamic status and effective date. As stipulated, new pollutants that fall under the List shall be subject to environmental risk management measures like prohibition, restriction and limitation of emission. The list of new pollutants for priority management and their corresponding control measures, e.g., prohibitions, restrictions and emission limits will be updated dynamically according to the practical situation. The List is set to come into force on March 1, 2023.
The appendix contains the names, CAS number and control measures of 14 types of new pollutants for priority management.
When formulating the List, three points are considered. Firstly, emphasis should be put on new pollutants that have shown unreasonable risks to the environment and human health, and are regulated under international conventions or of high concern among international communities. Secondly, it is essential to study the entire life cycle of a new pollutant that might cause environmental risks and develop environmental risk control measures accordingly. It is necessary to strengthen the socio-economic impact assessment of environmental risk control measures. Thirdly, relevant authorities should supervise and manage the new pollutants in the List according to laws and regulations and make clear that enterprises bear the primary responsibilities in this regard.
Here is a table listing environmental risks management measures for 14 types of new pollutants.
| Item | Environmental risks | Management measures |
Items 1-9: Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) specified in Stockholm Convention for POPs | POPs residues in the environment are hardly degradable and may cause severe environmental risks even with very low concentrations |
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| Items 10-11: New pollutants that have been listed in Catalogue of Priority Chemicals, List of Toxic and Hazardous Air Pollutants, and List of Toxic and Hazardous Water Pollutants. | Point source emissions from manufacturing or use and environmental emissions of related products during consumption |
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Item 12: Nonyl phenol, an environmental endocrine disruptor of very high concern | Point source emissions manufacturing or use and environmental emissions of related products during use |
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Item 13: Antibiotics of high concern both at home and abroad | Environmental emissions caused by excessive and irregular use of antibiotics |
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Item 14: POP which has been phased out in China |
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Efforts shall be made to make solid progress in the implementation of the List. This will include (1) strengthening publicity and interpretation to make sure the authorities and enterprises clearly understand their responsibilities and compliance requirements, (2) enhancing coordination in interdepartmental work and working out how to adapt the implementation of the List to suit the local regulation situation, and (3) incorporating the implementation of the List to local authority’s performance appraisal so as to consolidate local responsibilities.
Source materials can be accessed here.
