The Ministry of Ecology and Environment has issued an urgent notice: a nationwide crackdown on hazardous waste has been launched, with local authorities permitted to independently expand the scope of remediation efforts.

Release Date:

2019-10-19

　　Recently, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the “Notice on Launching a Special Rectification Campaign for Hazardous Waste.” The notice mandates that, by the end of this year, a nationwide assessment be conducted to identify environmental risks associated with hazardous waste at chemical industrial parks, facilities in key industries that generate hazardous waste, and all entities engaged in the management of hazardous waste, with measures taken to eliminate any potential environmental hazards.

　　Although the Notice clearly delineates three key areas for hazardous waste remediation—chemical industrial parks, facilities in priority industries that generate hazardous waste, and all hazardous waste management operators—it also stipulates that local authorities may, based on their specific circumstances, expand the scope of remediation. Thus, with respect to the scope of this hazardous waste cleanup effort, the approach is one of expansion rather than contraction.
　　In addition, based on the scope and content of this rectification campaign, four key characteristics have emerged:
　　One
　　Key Inspection System and Standards for Enterprise Hazardous Waste Identification and Management
　　Environmental risks associated with hazardous waste at enterprises will be systematically identified. In accordance with the requirements of the standardized management indicator system for hazardous waste, inspections will be conducted to assess the implementation of environmental management systems by both hazardous waste generators and operators, with a focus on identifying environmental risks throughout the entire lifecycle of hazardous waste—generation, storage, transfer, utilization, and disposal. For hazardous wastes declared by enterprises that are flammable, explosive, or emit toxic gases under ambient temperature and pressure conditions, compliance with the “Standard for Pollution Control on the Storage of Hazardous Waste” (GB 18597) will be rigorously verified, with particular attention paid to whether pre‑treatment has been carried out to stabilize such wastes prior to storage; otherwise, they must be stored in accordance with the regulations governing flammable and explosive materials.
　　Two
　　Key inspection and response capabilities for chemical park risk assessments
　　Environmental risk assessment of hazardous waste in chemical industrial parks: In addition to identifying environmental risks associated with hazardous waste at all enterprises within the park, priority should be given to verifying whether the treatment capacity of the centralized hazardous waste disposal facilities constructed as part of the park’s infrastructure is sufficient to meet the needs of the park’s enterprises. For parks that have not established such facilities, it must be confirmed whether all hazardous waste generated by the enterprises can be properly utilized or disposed of. Furthermore, the park should assess whether information‑technology tools are being fully leveraged to monitor and manage environmental risks across all stages—hazardous waste types, generation volumes, flow paths, storage, utilization, and disposal.
Three
　　Strict law enforcement, effective rectification.
　　For environmental violations identified during the inspection process, strict penalties shall be imposed in accordance with environmental protection laws and regulations. A checklist shall be established, and the status of inspections and remediation efforts shall be promptly reported through the “Special Governance APP for Hazardous Waste.” With respect to issues uncovered during inspections, corrective actions shall be taken concurrently with the investigation—immediate rectification where feasible, and case closure upon completion of each item. For problems that cannot be resolved in the short term, enterprises or chemical parks shall be guided and supervised to implement necessary emergency preventive measures to mitigate environmental risks associated with hazardous waste, and to develop practical, actionable work plans for remediation, advancing implementation according to a defined timeline to ensure thorough resolution. For cases where remediation is not completed by the deadline, the competent authorities shall, in accordance with the law, recommend that the local people’s government order suspension of production or closure.
　　Four
　　Multi-departmental collaboration
　　Strengthen communication and collaboration among relevant departments. Local ecological and environmental authorities at all levels shall, in accordance with applicable environmental protection laws and regulations, enhance environmental supervision and management of the collection, storage, transfer, utilization, and disposal of hazardous waste. During inspection activities, any suspected environmental violations or criminal offenses involving hazardous waste shall be promptly referred to the public security organs; likewise, any safety or fire‑related issues identified during inspections shall be promptly reported to the competent administrative authorities, and enterprises shall be required to proactively report such matters to the relevant administrative bodies.
　　According to reports, the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment has circulated the contents of the “Notice” to the ecological and environmental bureaus of all prefecture-level cities. In accordance with the department’s requirements, the ecological and environmental authorities in each prefecture-level city will complete the special rectification campaign on hazardous waste by January 10, 2020—earlier than the deadline of January 31, 2020 stipulated in the Ministry of Ecology and Environment’s “Notice.”