The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) of China has launched a program on 25 May to collect information about safe alternatives of toxic and hazardous raw materials (products) (hereinafter as “safe alternatives”) among the industry. This notification is aimed for tox-free or hazard-free raw materials (products) what industry is in urgent need of developing and promoting in order to eliminate or avoid from source the outcome of production pollution, according to the China MIIT notice.
The ministerial notice also designates the scope of toxic and hazardous materials as necessary raw materials required for and end products of the production activities which involve the heavy metal pollutants, Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), Persistent Toxic Pollutants (PTS) as well as covering all highly toxic, highly corrosive, highly irritant, radioactive (exclusive of nuclear power and military industry facilities), carcinogenic and mutagenic substances, etc.
Key sectors of the safe alternatives notification program
Order | Sector | Priority substance | Safe alternatives examples |
1 | Heavy metal pollutants | Hg | Alternatives of Hg in battery, fluorescent lamp and touch media |
Cr | Alternatives of Cr in pre-treatment solutions | ||
Pb | Lead-free solder | ||
Cd | Alternatives of lead-acid or nickel-cadmium batteries | ||
As | Alternatives of As containing raw materials used in pesticides, dyes and leather industry | ||
Cyanide | Electroplating solution without cyanide or formaldehyde acid | ||
2 | Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) | PFOS | Chromic acid fog inhibitor without PFOS in electroplating industry |
Chlorinated Compounds | Alternatives of chlorinated compounds in steel sintering | ||
Halogen bromide flame retardants | Non-halogenated flame retardant used in electronics and electrical industry | ||
Volatile organic compounds (VOC) | Alternatives of VOCs in inks and paints | ||
DDT | Alternatives of DDT anti-corrosive paint for boat | ||
PAHs | Alternatives of PAHs in plastics and rubber industry | ||
Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) | Alternatives of PCBs in paint, additives, plastics and flame retardants | ||
Short-chain chlorinated paraffins | Alternatives of short-chain paraffins in pipes, flooring, films, leather, plastics and everyday use goods | ||
3 | Pesticides | POPs | Alternatives of pesticide ingredients containing POPs such as Aldrin, Chlordane, Dieldrin, Endrin, Heptachlor, HCB, Mirex, Toxaphen, DDT, PFOS,etc. |
Collected safe alternatives will be divided into three categories based on the production process phase of the raw material:
Development: safe alternatives in urgent need of development;
Application: safe alternatives that have been developed and expect promising marketing promotion;
Promotion: safe alternatives of mature promotion and in need of expanding range of application.
Companies now are encouraged to increase investment on the research and development of toxic and hazardous chemical safe alternatives. They can notify to provincial competent authorities of industry and information under the coordination of the provincial industry associations in two approaches: one is for complete substitution, in which use of the tox-free or hazard-free alternatives will not affect the performance or reliance requirements of the original product and no new toxic/hazardous substance is generated; the other one is for partial substitution, in which industry can adopt a less toxic or hazardous alternative given no influence on the original performance or reliance nor newly arising produced toxic/hazardous substance.
Formal notification documents (including technical feasibility report, economic analysis, alternative effect analysis, application overview and self-statement) plus the expert review comments shall be submitted to China MIIT from the provincial authorities before the end of June 2012 and an electronic version mailed to youdutidai@163.com. For the Chinese safe alternative notification program please enter: China MIIT notice [2012] No. 372.