On 6 June 2023, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, together with ten other ministries and commissions, published the Announcement on Environmental Risk Control Requirements for Five Persistent Organic Pollutants Including Polychlorinated Naphthalenes, setting out clear provisions on the elimination or restriction of five persistent organic pollutants: hexachlorobutadiene, polychlorinated naphthalenes, pentachlorophenol and its salts and esters, decabromodiphenyl ether and short-chain chlorinated paraffins. The announcement took effect immediately.

Announcement on Environmental Risk Control Requirements for Five Persistent Organic Pollutants Including Polychlorinated Naphthalenes

On 30 December 2022, the 38th session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress approved the Amendment to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants Listing Three Persistent Organic Pollutants Including Polychlorinated Naphthalenes and the Amendment to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants Listing Three Persistent Organic Pollutants Including Short-Chain Chlorinated Paraffins (together the Amendments). The Amendments entered into force for China on 6 June 2023.

The Amendments set out provisions for the elimination or restriction of five persistent organic pollutants: hexachlorobutadiene, polychlorinated naphthalenes, pentachlorophenol and its salts and esters, decabromodiphenyl ether and short-chain chlorinated paraffins. Taking into account China's relevant management provisions, the specific matters concerning the restriction and control of these five persistent organic pollutants are announced as follows:

1. The production, use, import and export of hexachlorobutadiene, polychlorinated naphthalenes, and pentachlorophenol and its salts and esters are prohibited.

2. The production, use, import and export of decabromodiphenyl ether are prohibited, except for the following uses:

(1) textile products requiring flame-retardant characteristics (excluding clothing and toys);

(2) additives for plastic housings and components used in household heating appliances, irons, fans and immersion heaters, containing or in direct contact with electrical parts, or required to comply with flame retardant standards, with a density below 10% calculated on the weight of the part;

(3) polyurethane foam used for building insulation;

The exemption period for these three uses ends on 31 December 2023.

3. The production, use, import and export of short-chain chlorinated paraffins are prohibited, except for the following uses:

(1) additives used in the production of conveyor belts in the natural and synthetic rubber industry;

(2) spare parts for rubber conveyor belts used in mining and forestry;

(3) the leather industry, especially for leather fatliquoring;

(4) lubricant additives, especially for engines in automobiles, generators and wind energy installations, and for refineries producing diesel in oil and gas exploration drilling and production;

(5) outdoor decorative light tubes;

(6) waterproof and flame-retardant paints;

(7) adhesives;

(8) metal working;

(9) secondary plasticisers for flexible polyvinyl chloride (but not for processing and use in toys and children's products);

The exemption period for these nine uses ends on 31 December 2023.

4. Enterprises and institutions and other producers and operators that discharge hexachlorobutadiene or polychlorinated naphthalenes shall take effective measures to genuinely reduce emissions or eliminate emission sources. The development and application of alternative technologies is encouraged in order to prevent the formation and emission of hexachlorobutadiene and polychlorinated naphthalenes.

5. Unless otherwise specified, chemical substances used for laboratory-scale research or as reference standards, and chemical substances occurring in products and articles as unintentional trace contaminants, are not subject to the above requirements prohibiting or restricting production, use, import and export.

6. Departments of ecology and environment, industry and information technology, housing and urban-rural development, agriculture and rural affairs, commerce, emergency management, market regulation and disease prevention and control at all levels, as well as customs, shall strengthen supervision and management of the production, use, import and export of the five persistent organic pollutants in accordance with relevant national laws and regulations. Any violation of the announcement shall be dealt with seriously in accordance with the law.

7. This announcement takes effect on 6 June 2023.

Annex: List of persistent organic pollutants restricted and controlled by the Amendments

Note: short-chain chlorinated paraffins means straight-chain chlorinated hydrocarbons with a carbon chain length of C10 to C13 and a chlorine content exceeding 48% by weight, at a concentration in mixtures of 1% or more by weight.