China Announced “2020 Plan for against Volatile Organic Compounds” to Reduce VOC Emissions

On 23 June, 2020, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China (MEE) announced “2020 Plan for against Volatile Organic Compounds” to achieve the targets proposed at the 13th Five-Year Plan, including improving environmental air quality, reducing O₃ pollution, and ensuring the health for the people. Under the “plan”, MEE is working to develop measures to reduce VOC in summer (from June to September) nationwide.

According to the “plan”, the goal of plan is to significantly enhance VOC control capabilities, greatly reduce the amount of VOC generated, and improve the current status of O₃ pollution during summer to a certain level. It also aimed at increasing the average number of days having excellent air quality by 11 days over last month of each from June to September for the priority areas, such as Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, and Henan provinces, as well as other areas with heavy O₃ pollution. In addition, it is assumed that targets concerning the ratio of days having excellent air quality in each province set at 13th Five-Year Plan will be achieved completely.

In the “plan”, the measures which should be implemented to achieve the above goals are indicated as below;

1. To disseminate low VOC materials and products, implement national and local VOC content standards, etc.
2. To strengthen fugitive emission control. “Standard for controlling fugitive emission of volatile organic compounds” (GB 37822-2019) will come into force by 1 July, 2020. To strengthen the control by sealing of VOC-containing substances/materials of companies; to guide preparation of maintenance/repair plans for companies in industries such as petrochemical, chemical, coal chemical, pharmaceutical, and agrochemical.
3. To guide companies to take inspection of gas emission treatment facilities by themselves. To make companies to confirm the gas emission collection rate, the operation rate and VOC removal rate for their existing VOC treatment facilities.
4. To strengthen VOC countermeasures in industrial parks and corporate-dense areas (villages, adjacent areas in which have more than 10 companies in the same category). Specifically to identify major VOC generation processes, to record the ledgers, and to develop improvement plans for industrial parks and companies in which significant problems have occurred.
5. To strengthen the supervision and management for preservation, transportation, and sales of oil. To strengthen the VOC emission regulations in the entire process such as preservation, transportation and sales of oils such as gasoline, naphtha, kerosene and crude oil.
6. To strengthen law enforcement. After July 1 2020, punishment will be taken for the companies which do not comply with emission standards or emission regulations. VOC online monitoring equipment will be checked, and random sampling check will be conducted until July 15, 2020.
7. To establish monitoring and management system. For cities that have already introduced VOC monitoring system, standardize sampling and monitoring regulations, strengthen the equipment maintenance and quality control. For cities that have not yet introduced VOC monitoring system, accelerate their introduction; especially, priority is placed for those with large amounts of emissions and serious pollution issues.
8. To improve support by governments such as government funds, green purchase, loan, etc.
9. To strengthen public relations. To establish information disclosure system and publish lists of companies of large volume VOC emission.
10. To strengthen guidance to local governments. MEE will strengthen supervision of cities with slow progress in air quality improvement or mission completion

The original text of the “plan” can be viewed from the following URL (Chinese: Simplified).
http://www.mee.gov.cn/xxgk2018/xxgk/xxgk03/202006/t20200624_785827.html