The Ministry of Environmental Protection(MEP) plans to carry out a national investigation over the current environmental situations of chemicals production, which lays foundation for establishing a long-effect mechanism of environmental management over chemicals, and facilitates the environmental risk prevention and control system featured by chemicals whole-process management.
The whole-process management over environmental risks has been already specified in the National 12th Five-Year Plan for Environmental Protection, including the establishment of risk source database and the risk assessment system for environment and health. This concept of safety management of chemicals life cycle is popular overseas, such as the American Toxic Substance Control Act(TSCA). Not only for the control at the source, every link including the production, storage, transportation, operation and waste disposal shall be covered accordingly. In this aspect, the forthcoming investigation for manufacturing industry of chemicals is a must step for China to tighten up the environmental management of chemical substance.
This investigation will cover more than 3000 kinds of products and 50,000 chemical substances. All the companies of chemical manufacturing industry including the oil processing, coking and nuclear fuel processing, chemical raw materials manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, chemical fiber manufacturing and food manufacturing are included in the investigation scope.
On 19 and 20 October, the investigation has been piloted in Chongqing, Shijiazhuang and Changzhou by the Department of Pollution Prevention and Control under MEP. The instruction and software for reporting will be improved according to the feedbacks generated from the trial. The national training for the local environmental protection departments and industry-involved companies will be carried out in November, so is the practical implementation of the investigation.
