Strengthen the treatment of new pollutants

　　The treatment of new pollutants is the inevitable result of the in-depth promotion of pollution prevention and control, and it is an inherent requirement in the process of continuous improvement of ecological environment quality. This year's government work report clearly states that the treatment of new pollutants will be strengthened. This is the third consecutive year that the "new pollutant control" has been written into the mainland government's work report, and the mainland's treatment of new pollutants has entered the "fast lane".

　　Photo / Rice Grains

　　Challenges posed by new contaminants

　　At present, there are four major categories of new pollutants of international concern: one is persistent organic pollutants, the second is endocrine disruptors, the third is antibiotics, and the fourth is microplastics.

　　Ren Yong, director of the Department of Solid Waste and Chemicals of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said that from the perspective of improving the quality of the ecological environment and environmental risk management, new pollutants refer to toxic and harmful chemicals that have the characteristics of biological toxicity, environmental persistence, and bioaccumulation. These toxic and harmful chemicals pose a great risk to the ecological environment or human health, but they have not yet been included in environmental management or the existing management measures are insufficient.

　　Ren Yong said that the reason why new pollutants are called "new" is, on the one hand, relative to familiar conventional pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides; On the other hand, there are many new types of pollutants that are likely to continue to increase. He said that with the deepening of the understanding of the environmental and health hazards of chemical substances and the continuous development of environmental monitoring technology, the number of new pollutants identified will continue to increase.

　　Jiang Guibin, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and dean of the School of Resources and Environment at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, believes that "unintentional exposure, persistent retention, and imperceptible harm to human health and environmental systems constitute the common characteristics of new pollutants." As awareness continues to grow and environmental monitoring technologies continue to evolve, the types and quantities of new pollutants will continue to change.

　　In recent years, the overall industrial technology and management level of the mainland has been greatly improved, but some enterprises are still at the low end of the industrial chain, and the technical level and management ability are uneven. In cities with rapid industrial development and urbanization, improper waste disposal can lead to organochlorine residues, and industrial activities such as mining and smelting will lead to heavy metal emissions and residues. The frequent use of pesticides and fertilizers in some agricultural areas will cause the emission and residue of organophosphorus compounds.

　　The weak detection foundation is also a difficult problem that needs to be solved urgently. Jiang Guibin found that the key point of new pollutant treatment is "new", and the difficulty is also "new". Because of the "new", there are problems such as monitoring methods cannot keep up, the pollution base is not clear, the environmental process is not clear, the environmental hazards are not mastered, and the conventional prevention and control methods are not effective.

　　The unclear mechanism of toxicity of new pollutants and the lack of efficient purification technology have also hindered the treatment process of new pollutants to a certain extent. Jiang Guibin suggested that the establishment of the "new pollutant treatment science and technology special" should be accelerated, the interdisciplinary integration and high-tech application should be promoted, the theoretical and technical system of new pollutant prevention and control and risk early warning should be developed, and the technical support for the treatment of new pollutants should be strengthened. At the same time, the mainland is also facing the conspicuous problem of the coexistence of new pollutants and traditional pollutants.

　　The "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Deepening the Battle of Pollution Prevention and Control" released in November 2021 made clear arrangements for the treatment of new pollutants and required the formulation and implementation of action plans for the treatment of new pollutants. Half a year later, in May 2022, the General Office of the State Council issued the Action Plan for the Treatment of New Pollutants (hereinafter referred to as the "Action Plan"). This plan puts forward requirements for the treatment of new pollutants from the aspects of overall requirements, action measures and safeguard measures. By 2025, the mainland will complete the environmental risk screening of high-concern, high-yield (used) chemical substances, and complete the environmental risk assessment of a batch of chemical substances; Dynamically release the list of new pollutants under key control; Implement environmental risk control measures such as prohibiting, restricting, and limiting discharge of key controlled new pollutants. The legal system and management mechanism for environmental risk management of toxic and harmful chemicals have been gradually established and improved, and the ability to control new pollutants has been significantly enhanced.

　　In the first half of last year, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) issued the Announcement on Environmental Risk Management and Control Requirements for Five Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) including Polychlorinated Naphthalene, which made provisions for phasing out or restricting five types of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). So far, the mainland has completely eliminated more than 20 types of persistent organic pollutants controlled by the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, and the emission intensity of dioxins in major industries in the country has dropped significantly.

　　Cooperate to play a good "combination punch"

　　At the beginning of this year, Xinhua News Agency released the "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Comprehensively Promoting the Construction of a Beautiful China", which called for strengthening the treatment of solid waste and new pollutants. Accelerate the construction of "zero-waste cities", continue to promote the treatment of new pollutants, and promote the realization of "zero-waste" and environmental health in urban and rural areas. Strengthen the comprehensive management of solid waste, limit the excessive packaging of commodities, and control plastic pollution in the whole chain. Deepen the work of completely banning the entry of "foreign garbage", and strictly prevent the smuggling and disguised import of solid waste in all forms. Strengthen the supervision and utilization and disposal capacity of hazardous waste, and strengthen the pollution control of tailings ponds with a focus on the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Yellow River Basin. Formulate regulations on environmental risk management of toxic and harmful chemicals.

　　Ren Yong introduced that the overall idea of new pollutant treatment is to "screen" and "evaluate" new pollutants that need to be controlled through the screening and assessment of environmental risks of toxic and harmful chemicals. Then, the whole process of key new pollutants is controlled, including the source prohibition and restriction of production and use, process emission reduction, and end treatment.

　　The CPC Central Committee and the State Council attach great importance to the control of new pollutants. In recent years, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, together with relevant departments, has promoted the establishment of a system of laws and regulations, strengthened source access management, promoted environmental risk management and control of toxic and harmful chemicals, and actively participated in the global chemical compliance action, laying a good foundation for the treatment of new pollutants.

　　On November 4, 2022, the first meeting of the "Inter-Ministerial Coordination Group for the Control of New Pollutants" was held in Beijing. The coordination group is headed by Huang Runqiu, Minister of Ecology and Environment. In addition to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the members of the Inter-Ministerial Coordination Group include the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce, the Health Commission, the General Administration of Customs, and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

　　On February 2, 2024, the second meeting of the group proposed to give full play to the role of the promotion mechanism for the treatment of new pollutants and strengthen cross-departmental joint actions.

　　In addition to inter-ministerial coordination, there is also inter-provincial cooperation. On March 14 this year, the first joint meeting of Sichuan and Chongqing provinces and cities on the treatment of new pollutants was held in Chongqing. The meeting reported on the development of new pollutant control work in 2023 and the work plan for 2024 in the two places.

　　Jiangsu is a pilot province for environmental monitoring of new pollutants, and the province monitors pollution points in water and air in two pilot industrial development zones.

　　Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi and other provinces have also carried out pilot investigations, monitoring and evaluation of new pollutants in key industries. Anhui Province focuses on whole-process monitoring and environmental information investigation, conducts law enforcement inspections on the production, processing and use of new chemical substances, and carries out pilot surveys of basic environmental information on chemical substances. The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has carried out a pilot project for the investigation and risk assessment of new pollutants in the Yellow River Basin and "One Lake, Two Seas", and carried out non-targeted screening and quantitative monitoring of new pollutants. Shaanxi Province has launched a pilot project on compensation for ecological and environmental damage related to new pollutants to provide guarantees for promoting cleaner production and green manufacturing.

　　At present, a multi-level and multi-dimensional pilot network has been formed through pilot projects in key industries, key areas, key river basins, process monitoring and result assurance. These pilots are part of the treatment of new pollutants. Some localities have also focused on improving legal safeguards, issuing regulations on the prevention and control of soil pollution, and clearly implementing and strengthening the governance of new pollutants such as persistent organic pollutants.

　　The characteristics of new pollutants determine the difficulty of their treatment. Ren Yong said that the new pollutants have five characteristics: First, the harm is relatively serious. New pollutants may be harmful to organs, nerves, reproductive development, etc., and their production and use are often closely related to human life, and there is a great risk to the ecological environment and human health. Second, the risk is relatively hidden. The short-term hazards of most new pollutants are not obvious, but by the time they are discovered, they may have already entered the environment through various pathways. Third, it has environmental persistence. Most of the new pollutants are environmentally persistent and bioaccumulative, difficult to degrade in the environment and easily enriched in the ecosystem, and can accumulate in the environment and organisms for a long time. Fourth, it comes from a wide range of sources. The mainland is a major producer and user of chemical substances, with tens of thousands of new chemical substances in production and use, and thousands of new chemical substances are added every year, and there may be environmental emissions in their production and consumption. Fifth, governance is complex. For new pollutants with environmental persistence and bioaccumulation, even if they are discharged into the environment in low doses, they may endanger the environment, organisms and human health, and require a high degree of treatment.

　　Ren Yong pointed out that new pollutants involve many industries, the industrial chain is long, and the research and development of substitutes and alternative technologies is difficult, so it is necessary to coordinate the governance of multiple departments and fields to implement environmental risk management and control throughout the life cycle.

　　END

　　Source: "Xiaokang"

　　Author: Liu Jianhua

　　Editor: Liu Yanhua

　　Review: Gong Zimo