China China Releases Draft List of Key Controlling New Pollutants

Control measures are proposed for 14 types of pollutants, including PFOA and dechlorane plus

China Chemical Substances (Products) Biocidal Products Cosmetics Detergents Industrial Chemicals
3 October 2022  yk.envix  LIU Yake (EnviX, Ltd.)
China Releases Draft List of Key Controlling New Pollutants

On Sept. 27, 2022, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment released a draft 2022 List of Key Controlling New Pollutants to seek public comments, which will be accepted through Oct. 28, 2022.

The New Pollutant Control Action Plan, announced by the State Council in May 2022, states that a list of key controlling new pollutants will be released by the end of 2022 and keep being updated after that. It also says that bans, restrictions, discharge restrictions and other environmental risk control measures against these new pollutants are dynamically introduced.

The latest draft list is based on the above action plan and specifies 14 types of key controlled new pollutants along with control measures for each of them, including bans and restrictions on production, processing, use, import or export as well as discharge reduction.

 

Draft 2022 List of Key Controlling New Pollutants

The draft list contains the following 14 items. Only part of their control measures are shown here. You can see the complete full details via the link at the end of this article.

No. Name(s) of new pollutant(s) CAS Registry Number(s) Main measures to control environmental risks (part of the measures shown here)
1 Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid and its salts, and perfluorooctanesulfonyl fluoride (PFOS group) Examples:
1763-23-1
307-35-7
2795-39-3
29457-72-5
29081-56-9
70225-14-8
56773-42-3
251099-16-8
  • Production is banned.
  • Processing and use are banned (with exceptions).
  • For import and export, a Clearance Notification for Environmental Management on Import/Export of Toxic Chemicals must be submitted. Import and export will be banned from Jan. 1, 2024.
2 Perfluorooctanoic acid and its salts and related compounds (PFOA group) ―
  • New equipment to produce perfluorooctanoic acid must not be built.
  • Production, processing and use are banned (with exceptions).
  • To import or export an item on the List of Toxic Chemicals Strictly Restricted in China, a Clearance Notification for Environmental Management on Import/Export of Toxic Chemicals must be submitted.
3 Decabromodiphenyl ether 1163-19-5
  • Production, processing and use are banned (with exceptions that are valid through Dec. 31, 2023).
  • To import or export an item that is on the List of Toxic Chemicals Strictly Restricted in China, a Clearance Notification for Environmental Management on Import/Export of Toxic Chemicals must be submitted. Import and export will be banned from Jan. 1, 2024.
4 Short-chain chlorinated paraffins Examples:
85535-84-8
68920-70-7
71011-12-6
85536-22-7
85681-73-8
108171-26-2
  • Production, processing and use are banned (with exceptions that are valid through Dec. 31, 2023).
  • For import or export, a Clearance Notification for Environmental Management on Import/Export of Toxic Chemicals must be submitted. Import and export will be banned from Jan. 1, 2024.
5 Hexachlorobutadiene 87-68-3
  • Production, processing and use are banned.
  • Companies handling hexachlorobutadiene must  discharge it in accordance with the Emission Standard of Pollutants for Petroleum Chemistry Industry (GB 31571).
6 Pentachlorophenol and its salts and esters 87-86-5
131-52-2
27735-64-4
3772-94-9
1825-21-4
  • Production, processing, use, import and export are banned.
7 Dicofol 115-32-2
10606-46-9
  • Production, processing, use, import and export are banned.
8 Perfluorohexanesulphonic acid and its salts and related compounds (PFHxS group) ―
  • Production, processing, use, import and export are banned.
9 Dechlorane plus (both cis and trans isomers) 13560-89-9
135821-03-3
135821-74-8
  • Production, processing, use, import and export are banned from Jan. 1, 2024.
10 Dichloromethane 75-09-2
  • Paint removers containing dichloromethane must not be produced.
  • The maximum allowable concentration in cosmetics is 35% and the maximum allowable impurity content is 0.2% under the Hygienic Standard for Cosmetics (GB 7916).
  • The total concentration of dichloromethane, trichloromethane, trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene in water-based, semi-water-based and organic solvent-based cleaning agents must not exceed 0.5%, 2% and 20%, respectively, under the Limits for Volatile Organic Compounds Content in Cleaning Agents (GB 38508).
11 Chloroform 67-66-3
  • Paint removers containing chloroform must not be produced.
  • The total concentration of dichloromethane, trichloromethane, trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene in water-based, semi-water-based and organic solvent-based cleaning agents must not exceed 0.5%, 2% and 20%, respectively, under the Limits for Volatile Organic Compounds Content in Cleaning Agents (GB 38508).
12 Nonylphenols 25154-52-3
84852-15-3
  • Agrochemicals produced by using nonylphenols as additives must not be used.
  • Nonylphenols must not be used to produce nonylphenol ethoxylates.
13 Antibiotics ―
  • Relevant requirements in the Discharge Standard of Water Pollutants for Pharmaceutical Industry Fermentation Products Category (GB 21903) are strictly enforced.
14 Phased-out group (hexabromocyclododecane, chlordane, mirex, hexachlorobenzene, DDT, α-hexachlorocyclohexane, β-hexachlorocyclohexane, lindane, endosulfan as a raw material and its isomers, and polychlorinated biphenyls) ―
  • Production, processing, use, import and export continue to be banned.

 

The complete draft list (in Chinese) is available at
https://www.mee.gov.cn/xxgk2018/xxgk/xxgk06/202209/t20220927_995054.html

Author / Responsibility

LIU Yake

Researcher, Research & Consulting Dept. EnviX Ltd.

Business Performance

worked as a research assistant at Department of Environmental Planning and Management, School of Environment, Tsinghua University for 4 years, and then joint in Envix in April, 2022, currently is mainly responsible for consulting on EHS regulation compliance in East Asia.

Background

MA, Environmental Econimics, Hiroshima University

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