Micro plastics and other new pollution control have been put on the agenda, and the Ministry of ecological environment, together with 13 departments such as the development and Reform Commission, is studying and formulating action plans for the treatment of new pollutants.
On March 30, the Ministry of ecology and environment held a regular press conference in March. Ren Yong appeared at the press conference for the first time as the director of the solid waste and chemicals department of the Ministry of ecology and environment to introduce the treatment of new pollutants and the construction of waste free cities.
The reporter of the daily economic news learned from the press conference that there are four categories of new pollutants in the environment widely concerned in the world: one is persistent organic pollutants, the other is endocrine disruptors, the third is antibiotics and the fourth is micro plastics.
Ren Yong stressed that the Ministry of ecological environment, together with 13 departments including the development and Reform Commission, is studying the action plan and put forward the overall requirements, main objectives, action measures and safeguard measures for the treatment of new pollutants in China during the 14th Five Year Plan period.
New types of pollutants may continue to increase
The opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on deepening the battle for pollution prevention and control clearly states that by 2025, China's ability to treat solid waste and new pollutants will be significantly enhanced. At the national two sessions in March this year, Premier Li Keqiang also stressed the need to strengthen the treatment of solid waste and new pollutants in his government work report.
Ren Yong said at the press conference that from the perspective of improving eco-environmental quality and environmental risk management, new pollutants refer to toxic and harmful chemicals with the characteristics of biological toxicity, environmental persistence and bioaccumulation. These toxic and harmful chemicals have great risks to the ecological environment or human health, but have not been included in environmental management or the existing management measures are insufficient.
For the "new" of new pollutants, Ren Yong explained that on the one hand, it is relative to familiar ones such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and PM2 5 and other conventional pollutants. On the other hand, there are many kinds of new pollutants. The more important feature of "new" is that their types may continue to increase. With the deepening understanding of the environmental and health hazards of chemical substances and the continuous development of environmental monitoring technology, the number of new pollutants that may be identified will continue to increase.
Ren Yong introduced that there are also five characteristics in the treatment of new pollutants:
First, the harm is relatively serious. New pollutants may be harmful to organs, nerves, reproductive development and other aspects. Their production and use are often closely related to human life, and there are great risks to the ecological environment and human health.
Second, the risk is relatively hidden. The short-term harm of most new pollutants is not obvious, but once their harmfulness is found, they may have entered the environment through various ways.
Third, it has environmental sustainability. Most of the new pollutants have environmental persistence and bioaccumulation. They are difficult to degrade in the environment and easy to enrich in the ecosystem. They can accumulate in the environment and organisms for a long time.
Fourth, extensive sources. China is a large country in the production and use of chemical substances. There are tens of thousands of kinds in production and use, and thousands of new chemical substances are added every year. Their production and consumption may have environmental emissions.
Finally, governance is complex. For new pollutants with persistence and bioaccumulation, even if they are discharged to the environment in low doses, they may endanger the environment, biology and human health, and require a high degree of treatment. In addition, there are many industries involved in new pollutants, the industrial chain is long, and the research and development of substitutes and alternative technologies is difficult. Multi sectoral and cross sectoral collaborative governance is needed to implement full life cycle environmental risk management and control.
An action plan is being formulated to increase the treatment of new pollutants
"The opinions on deepening the battle for pollution prevention and control and the outline of the 14th five year plan have made clear arrangements and arrangements for the treatment of new pollutants, and require the formulation of action plans for the treatment of new pollutants." Ren Yong said that in recent years, the Ministry of ecological environment, together with relevant departments, has mainly carried out four aspects of work in the environmental risk management of toxic and harmful chemicals, laying a good foundation for the treatment of new pollutants.
Specifically, it includes promoting the establishment of regulations and standards system, strengthening source access management, promoting environmental risk control of toxic and harmful chemicals, and actively participating in global chemical compliance actions.
Ren Yong stressed that the treatment of new pollutants is the inevitable result of the in-depth promotion of the battle of pollution prevention and control and the internal requirement in the process of continuous improvement of ecological and environmental quality. According to the decision-making and deployment of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the Ministry of ecological environment, together with 13 departments such as the development and Reform Commission, is studying and formulating the action plan for the treatment of new pollutants, and puts forward the overall requirements, main objectives, action measures and safeguard measures for the treatment of new pollutants in China during the 14th Five Year Plan period.
It is reported that the general idea of new pollutant treatment is to "screen" and "evaluate" the new pollutants that need key control through the environmental risk screening and assessment of toxic and harmful chemicals, and then implement the whole process control of key new pollutants, including source prohibition, process emission reduction and end treatment. Therefore, the general idea can be summarized as: "screening, evaluation and control" and "prohibition, reduction and treatment".
Ren Yong said that many measures for the treatment of new pollutants should be implemented in the treatment of water, gas and soil pollution, reflecting the characteristics and laws of the "traction drive" of chemical environmental management on environmental pollution prevention and control. Next, after the issuance of the action plan, the Ministry of ecological environment will seriously implement the measures and tasks specified in the plan with relevant departments.
