language language

    Starting July 1, pesticide companies need to pay close attention!


    Release Date:

    2020-06-28

    On June 24, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment released the “2020 Action Plan for Tackling Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Emissions.” The plan calls for a nationwide summer campaign (June–September) to address VOCs emissions. It emphasizes a combination of targeted measures and science-based management, focusing on key sectors such as petrochemicals, chemicals, industrial coatings, packaging and printing, and the storage, transportation, and marketing of petroleum products. Priority is given to industrial parks, enterprise clusters, and major emitting enterprises, with comprehensive efforts to strengthen control over VOCs that exhibit high photochemical reactivity.

    The plan stipulates that, effective July 1, enforcement actions shall be carried out under the “double-random, one-public” inspection model, and enterprises that fail to consistently meet emission standards or do not comply with uncontrolled emissions control requirements shall be subject to penalties in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Production shutdowns for maintenance will be implemented at petrochemical, chemical, coal‑chemical, and pharmaceutical facilities, Pesticide Industry enterprises are brought under the scope of law enforcement and regulatory oversight, with particular attention paid to whether emissions during start-up and shutdown phases, as well as during cleaning, material withdrawal, purging, venting, and drying processes, comply with applicable emission standards.

    The plan emphasizes that cases involving serious violations with severe consequences, as well as repeated offenses, will be rigorously investigated and prosecuted, with typical cases publicly disclosed. The scope of issues subject to investigation primarily encompasses ten types of conduct that contravene relevant laws, regulations, and standards:

    1. Storing, transferring, transporting, or disposing of VOC-containing materials in forms that are directly exposed to ambient air, such as open storage or leakage;

    2. Industries such as chemical manufacturing use open‑type, open‑flow production equipment;

    3. When not in operation, keep the inlet and outlet ports, inspection hatches, observation windows, and other openings of the VOCs material reaction unit open.

    4. Open‑air spraying, air‑drying, and similar production processes (excluding large workpieces);

    5. Obvious leaks, such as seepage or dripping, occur at the sealing points of equipment and pipeline components;

    6. Observable leaks, such as damage, odors, or air leakage, are present in the organic waste gas conveyance pipelines.

    7. The collection, storage, and treatment of high-concentration organic wastewater are in direct contact with the ambient air;

    8. Organic waste gases from production processes and use stages are discharged directly without collection or treatment;

    9. Unauthorized shutdown or abnormal operation of exhaust gas collection and treatment facilities, as well as VOCs automatic monitoring systems;

    10. Enterprises in industries such as petrochemicals, chemicals, organic chemical raw material manufacturing, pesticide manufacturing, fertilizer manufacturing, coke production, man-made board production, and furniture manufacturing that are required to obtain discharge permits are discharging pollutants without a permit.

     

    The plan stipulates that for industrial parks and enterprise clusters with high VOC concentrations, as well as for enterprises experiencing slow progress in pollution control, frequent public complaints, and serious compliance issues, monitoring frequency will be increased and penalties will be imposed strictly in accordance with the law. Enterprises with particularly severe exceedances of emission standards or engaged in fraudulent practices will be publicly disclosed, their violations recorded in social integrity files, and they will be incorporated into the National Credit Information Sharing Platform.

     

     

    Source: Pesticide Market Information

     

    Tags: