China drafts regulations on POPs

On March 15, 2023, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment published two sets of draft regulations on chemicals that have been added to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).

The chemicals subject to the draft regulations are hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD), pentachlorophenol (PCP) and its salts and esters, polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs), decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) and short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs).

Except for PCNs, the four chemical substances are likewise listed on China’s 2023 List of Important Controlled New Pollutants. For conformity with the rules of this list, some individual exemption clauses of the Stockholm Convention are not included in the draft.

The Stockholm Convention’s addition of the substances will take effect for China 90 days after that nation submits its ratification instrument to the UN secretary-general.

Regulated Substances and its exemptions: –

 

• Chlorinated hydrocarbons at a concentration of 1% or more have chains of four to 28 carbon atoms and contain at least 48 wt% of chlorine.

 

Source: –

The draft regulations (in Chinese) are available at
https://www.mee.gov.cn/hdjl/yjzj/zjyj/202303/t20230315_1019705.shtml

https://enviliance.com/regions/east-asia/cn/report_9582