China News Agency, Beijing, May 7 (Reporter Ruan Yulin) "Regulations on Environmental Management Registration of New Chemical Substances" will be implemented from January 1, 2021. The relevant person in charge of the Department of Solid Waste and Chemicals of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China told reporters on the 7th that before the production or import of new chemical substances, identify their environmental hazards and implement registration permits to prevent such chemical substances from damaging the ecological environment and endangering public health.
Data show that at present, there are 10 million chemicals in the world, and 70,80,000 commonly used chemicals. According to the statistics of the "Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances in China" (2013 edition), there are more than 40,000 existing chemical substances that appear in China for commercial purposes. Chemicals are like a double-edged sword, providing many conveniences to people's lives and bringing huge benefits to the economy, and may also pose a hazard to public health and the ecological environment.
The relevant person in charge of the Solid Waste and Chemicals Department of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment said that the environmental management registration of new chemical substances is an internationally accepted chemical environmental management system. It requires that before the production or import of new chemical substances, their environmental hazards be identified and their production evaluated 1. Potential environmental risks in the whole life cycle of processing, use, and disposal, implement registration permits, and prevent new chemical substances with unreasonable environmental risks from entering the economy and society.
In 2003 and 2010, China promulgated and revised the "Environmental Management Measures for New Chemical Substances" to play an active role in strengthening the environmental management of the production and import of new chemical substances and preventing and reducing environmental pollution of new chemical substances. However, after years of practice, some provisions of the original approach have been unable to adapt to the current environmental management requirements.
The person in charge said that this revision, for the purpose of effective prevention of environmental risks, clearly clarified that the focus of control is persistent, bioaccumulative, environmental and health hazards, or may exist in the environment for a long time and may affect the ecological environment and the public. New chemicals that pose a greater risk to health.
According to reports, this revision of the approach adheres to the problem-oriented. Focus on environmental risk prevention and control, focusing on the management of new chemical substances with high environmental risks. Refine registration entry conditions and assessment standards, and improve the procedures and environmental supervision requirements for inclusion in the "Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances in China". (Finish)