Since 2022, the governance of new pollutants has been included in the Chinese government work report for three consecutive years.

With the deepening of the construction of a beautiful China, China's ecological and environmental protection work is developing from the governance of sensory indicators such as "smog" and "black and smelly" to the governance of new pollutants with long-term and hidden hazards.

The "hard bone" that must be chewed

What are new pollutants?

At present, new pollutants that are widely concerned outside China mainly include persistent organic pollutants, endocrine disruptors, antibiotics, etc. controlled by international conventions. The production and use of toxic and harmful chemicals are the main sources of new pollutants.

The reason why new pollutants are called "new" is that on the one hand, they are relative to conventional pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, PM2.5; on the other hand, there are many types of new pollutants, and the number of new pollutants that can be identified will continue to increase. At present, there are more than 20 major categories of new pollutants that are of global concern, and each category contains dozens or hundreds of chemical substances.

Jiang Guibin, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and dean of the School of Resources and Environment at the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, believes that "unconscious contact, long-lasting retention, and imperceptible harm to human health and environmental systems constitute the common characteristics of new pollutants". With the deepening of understanding and the continuous development of environmental monitoring technology, the types and quantities of new pollutants will continue to change.

Literature and data show that high levels of new pollutants such as environmental endocrine disruptors, antibiotics, and microplastics have been detected in the atmosphere, water, and soil in some parts of China. It is generally believed that new pollutants are gradually becoming a new difficulty that restricts the continuous and in-depth improvement of the quality of the atmosphere, water, and soil, and are also "a hard bone that must be gnawed by ecological and environmental protection after haze and black and smelly water bodies".

The treatment of new pollutants is not easy.

China is currently the world's largest producer and user of chemical products, and the most important supplier of chemical raw materials, with more than 50,000 chemical substances in production and use. These chemicals are consumed by many industries, and some chemicals are closely related to important fields such as agricultural production, daily necessities, and aerospace products.

Hu Jianxin, a professor at the School of Environmental Science and Engineering of Peking University, wrote an article introducing that China's annual production of short-chain chlorinated paraffins can reach millions of tons, and "chlorpyrifos" (note: a pesticide) involves agricultural production and food security. It is difficult to develop substitutes for them. There may be conflicts in terms of availability, performance, cost, environment and safety, and it is difficult to achieve perfection, which brings huge challenges to the future governance of new pollutants.

The governance of new pollutants mainly involves the chemical industry and its downstream industrial chain. In recent years, China's overall industrial technology and management level have been greatly improved, but some companies are still at the low end of the industrial chain, with uneven technical levels and management capabilities. In cities with rapid industrial development and urbanization, improper waste treatment will lead to residual organochlorine compounds, and industrial activities such as mining and smelting will lead to heavy metal emissions and residues. Frequent use of pesticides and fertilizers in some agricultural areas will cause the emission and residue of organophosphorus compounds.

The weak detection foundation is also a problem that needs to be solved urgently. Jiang Guibin found that the key point of the governance of new pollutants is "new" and the difficulty is also "new". Because of the "new" nature, there are problems such as the monitoring methods not keeping up, the pollution base is not clear, the environmental process is not clear, the environmental hazards are not mastered, and the conventional prevention and control methods are ineffective.

The unclear toxic mechanism of new pollutants and the lack of efficient purification technology have also hindered the governance process of new pollutants. Jiang Guibin suggested accelerating the establishment of relevant "new pollutant governance science and technology projects", promoting interdisciplinary integration and high-tech applications, developing a theoretical and technical system for new pollutant prevention and control and risk warning, and strengthening the technical support for new pollutant governance.

China is also facing the prominent problem of the coexistence of new pollutants and traditional pollutants.

Clear deployment has been made

The Party Central Committee and the State Council attach great importance to the governance of new pollutants.

The "Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Deepening the Battle of Pollution Prevention and Control" issued in November 2021 made clear arrangements for the governance of new pollutants and required the formulation and implementation of an action plan for the governance of new pollutants. Half a year later, in May 2022, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Action Plan for the Governance of New Pollutants" (hereinafter referred to as the "Action Plan"). This plan puts forward requirements for the governance of new pollutants from overall requirements, action measures to guarantee measures.

What is the goal of new pollutant control?

The Action Plan requires that by 2025, China will complete the environmental risk screening of high-concern, high-production (use) chemical substances, complete the environmental risk assessment of a number of chemical substances; dynamically publish a list of key controlled new pollutants; and implement environmental risk control measures such as prohibition, restriction, and emission restriction for key controlled new pollutants. The legal system and management mechanism for environmental risk management of toxic and hazardous chemical substances have been gradually established and improved, and the ability to control new pollutants has been significantly enhanced.

How to control new pollutants?

The Action Plan makes 18 specific arrangements in six aspects, including improving laws and regulations, conducting investigations and monitoring, strictly controlling sources, strengthening process control, deepening end-of-pipe control, and strengthening capacity building. For example, in terms of improving laws and regulations and establishing a sound new pollutant control system, the Action Plan proposes to improve laws and regulations, establish a sound technical standard system, and establish a sound new pollutant control management mechanism. It is required to establish an inter-departmental coordination mechanism for the governance of new pollutants, led by the ecological environment department, and participated by the development and reform, science and technology, industry and information technology, finance, housing and urban-rural development, agriculture and rural areas, commerce, health, customs, market supervision, drug supervision and other departments, to coordinate and promote the governance of new pollutants.

In terms of conducting investigations and monitoring and assessing the environmental risk status of new pollutants, the Action Plan proposes specific measures such as establishing a chemical substance environmental information investigation system, establishing a new pollutant environmental investigation and monitoring system, establishing a chemical substance environmental risk assessment system, and dynamically publishing a list of key controlled new pollutants. It is clearly required that for chemical substances included in the list of priority controlled chemicals and other key new pollutants such as antibiotics and microplastics, "one product, one policy" control measures should be formulated, the technical feasibility and economic and social impact assessment of control measures should be carried out, the main environmental emission sources of priority controlled chemicals should be identified, relevant industry emission standards should be formulated and revised in a timely manner, and the list of toxic and harmful air pollutants, the list of toxic and harmful water pollutants, and the list of key controlled soil toxic and harmful substances should be dynamically updated.

The Action Plan proposes to carry out pilot projects for the governance of new pollutants. It is required to select a number of key enterprises and industrial parks to carry out pilot projects for new pollutant control in the Yangtze River, Yellow River and other river basins and around key drinking water sources, key estuaries, key bays, key marine aquaculture areas, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and other regions, focusing on petrochemical, coatings, textile printing and dyeing, rubber, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and other industries, and form a number of green substitutions for toxic and harmful chemical substances, new pollutant emission reduction, and new pollutant control demonstration technologies in sewage sludge, waste liquid and waste residue. Encourage places with conditions to formulate incentive policies to promote enterprises to take the lead in trials and reduce the generation and emission of new pollutants.

Overall, the Action Plan has designed a "three-step" governance work path. The first step is "screening", which is to screen out pollutants with greater potential environmental risks and include them in the scope of priority environmental risk assessment; the second step is "evaluation", which is to focus on the new pollutants with greater risks to the environment and health among the screened chemical substances as key control targets; the third step is "control", which is to implement comprehensive control measures throughout the process for the key control targets determined in the first two steps.

The Action Plan clarifies several key time nodes for the control of new pollutants.

For example, the first list of key controlled new pollutants will be released in 2022. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, special treatment will be carried out on a number of key controlled new pollutants. By the end of 2025, a number of highly toxic and high-risk pesticide varieties will be re-evaluated. Local people's governments at all levels should strengthen the organizational leadership of new pollutant treatment. Provincial people's governments are the main body of organizing the implementation of this action plan. They will organize the formulation of new pollutant treatment work plans in their regions by the end of 2022, break down the goals and tasks, clarify the division of labor among departments, and ensure the implementation of the work. All relevant departments of the State Council should strengthen division of labor and cooperation, work together to do a good job in new pollutant treatment, and evaluate the implementation of this action plan in 2025.

In the year when the Action Plan was announced, the Chinese government's work report proposed to strengthen the treatment of solid waste and new pollutants, and promote garbage classification, reduction and resource utilization. The following year, the Chinese government's work report proposed to strengthen the treatment of solid waste and new pollutants. In this year's government work report, the relevant statement is to strengthen the treatment of solid waste, new pollutants and plastic pollution.

At the beginning of this year, Xinhua News Agency announced the "Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Comprehensively Promoting the Construction of a Beautiful China", which requires strengthening the management of solid waste and new pollutants. Accelerate the construction of "zero-waste cities", continue to promote the new pollutant management action, and promote the realization of "zero waste" in urban and rural areas and a healthy environment. Strengthen the comprehensive management of solid waste, limit excessive packaging of goods, and manage plastic pollution throughout the entire chain. Deepen the comprehensive ban on the entry of "foreign garbage" and strictly prevent the smuggling and disguised import of solid waste in various forms. Strengthen the supervision and utilization and disposal capabilities of hazardous waste, and strengthen the pollution control of tailings ponds with a focus on the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Yellow River Basin. Formulate environmental risk management regulations for toxic and hazardous chemical substances. By 2027, the proportion of "zero-waste cities" construction will reach 60%, and the intensity of solid waste generation will be significantly reduced; by 2035, the construction of "zero-waste cities" will be fully covered, and the eastern provinces will take the lead in building "zero-waste cities" across the region, and the environmental risks of new pollutants will be effectively controlled.

In the same year, many provinces in China mentioned the management of "new pollutants" in their government work reports. Promoting the construction of "zero-waste cities" and strengthening the management of new pollutants are common goals in many places.

Strengthen collaborative governance

The characteristics of new pollutants determine that collaborative governance is needed.

The environmental risks of new pollutants are environmental problems faced by all countries in the world.

DDT, mentioned in "Silent Spring", is one of the chemicals with typical new pollutant characteristics. Its harm has spanned half a century and affected every corner of the world. It is impossible to manage it with the power of one country alone. Professor Hu Jianxin pointed out: "The governance of some new pollutants requires global action. In addition to having multiple biological toxicities such as persistence, bioaccumulation, carcinogenicity, and teratogenicity, some new pollutants also have the potential for long-distance migration. They can migrate across international borders with air, water or migratory species and deposit in areas far away from their emission points, causing global environmental pollution problems."

In terms of new pollutant governance, China has an inter-departmental coordination mechanism.

The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly put forward the important task of "carrying out new pollutant governance". Shortly after the closing of the 20th National Congress, on November 4, 2022, the first meeting of the "Inter-ministerial Coordination Group for New Pollutant Governance" was held in Beijing. The head of the coordination group is Huang Runqiu, Minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. In addition to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the members of the inter-ministerial coordination group also include the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce, the National Health Commission, the General Administration of Customs, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and other departments.

On February 2, 2024, the second meeting of the group was held. The meeting proposed that we should give full play to the role of the new pollutant governance promotion mechanism, strengthen cross-departmental joint actions, increase guidance and assistance to local counterparts and enterprises, strengthen supervision and law enforcement and follow-up and effectiveness, and systematically promote breakthrough progress in key tasks of new pollutant governance. In addition, it is mentioned that we should accelerate the promotion of new pollutant governance legislation, promote the establishment and implementation of major scientific and technological projects, plan and layout a number of major projects, strengthen fiscal, taxation, finance, prices and other policy support, and play a "combination punch" of rule of law, science and technology, and policies.

In addition to inter-ministerial coordination, there is also inter-provincial cooperation.

For example, Sichuan and Chongqing jointly promote the governance of new pollutants. On March 14 this year, the first joint meeting on new pollutant governance between Sichuan and Chongqing was held in Chongqing. The meeting reported on the progress of the new pollutant control work in the two places in 2023 and the work plan for 2024. The meeting proposed to carry out joint investigation and monitoring of new pollutants in Sichuan and Chongqing, focusing on finding out the current status of new pollutants such as antibiotics and perfluorinated compounds, jointly promote the risk assessment of chemical substances in Chengdu and Chongqing, and provide a basis for the release of the supplementary list of new pollutants under key control in the Chengdu-Chongqing region.

Some provinces are carrying out pilot work.

For example, Jiangsu is a pilot province for environmental monitoring of new pollutants. The province monitors pollution points in water sources and air in two pilot industrial development zones. Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi and other provinces carry out pilot investigations, monitoring and assessments of new pollutants in key industries. Anhui Province focuses on full-process monitoring and environmental information investigations, conducts law enforcement inspections on the production, processing and use of new chemical substances, and carries out pilot investigations on basic environmental information of chemical substances. The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has carried out pilot projects for investigation and risk assessment of new pollutants in the Yellow River Basin and "one lake and two seas" in the region, and carried out non-targeted screening and quantitative monitoring of new pollutants. Shaanxi Province has carried out pilot projects for compensation for ecological and environmental damage involving new pollutants to provide guarantees for the promotion of clean production and green manufacturing.

At present, various places have carried out pilot projects in key industries, key fields, key river basins, process monitoring and result assurance, forming a multi-level and multi-dimensional pilot network. These pilot projects are part of the work of new pollutant control. Some places have also focused on improving legal guarantees, issuing regulations such as soil pollution prevention and control, and clearly implementing the strengthening of the control of new pollutants such as persistent organic pollutants.

According to the plan, by 2025, Jiangsu will initially establish an environmental investigation and monitoring system for new pollutants, Shandong will initially establish a new pollutant control system, and Liaoning's new pollutant control capabilities will be significantly enhanced...

Time is tight and the task is heavy.

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