Application and Issuance of Pollutant Permit to be Completed by the End of September

On April 17, the China Rubber Industry Association (CRIA) held the standard publicizing meeting by teleconference for the first time during the epidemic on the Technical specification for application and issuance of pollutant permit Rubber and plastic products industry (hereinafter referred to as Technical Specification).

On March 27, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the Technical Specification as the Announcement No. 23 [2020], which will be implemented from the date of promulgation. According to the requirements of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, all pollutant emission units in rubber products industry must complete the cleanup and rectification before the end of April, and complete the issuance and registration of pollutant permit before the end of September.

In the past, standard publicizing was an industry conference, where experts gave their interpretations, and participant representatives fully communicated at the meeting. However, the sudden epidemic this year blocked the form of face-to-face communication, causing difficulties to standard publicizing. In order to let rubber products enterprises better understand the content of Technical Specification and successfully complete the issuance and registration of permit, CRIA and Tianjin Eco-Environmental Science Research Institute launched the first large-scale online teleconference during the outbreak, where experts gave their interpretations online, and meeting representatives fully communicated in the message area, achieving excellent results.

At the meeting, three experts from Tianjin Academy of Environmental Sciences/National Key Laboratory of Malodor publicized the Technical Specification and relevant content. Senior Engineer Lu Zhiqiang interpreted the text of standard, and Engineer Meng Jie made a report on Analysis of Current Status and Characteristics of Pollutant Discharge in Rubber Products Industry. Xiao Xiande (Engineer) systematically explained Introduction to the Application System of Pollutant Permit for Rubber Products Industry and Key Points for Application.

Principles for Standard Setting

The Technical Specification is applicable to the implementation of Emission standard of pollutants for rubber products industry (GB 27632) and the management scope of pollutant permits for air pollutants and water pollutants from tire retreading and pollutant emission units. This standard is not applicable for reclaimed rubber manufacturing, while Technical specification for application and issuance of pollutant permit Waste resources processing industry (HJ 1034) applies.

The principles for formulating the Technical Specification are, firstly, to coordinate with existing laws, policies, and regulatory standards, secondly, to reflect the characteristics of the industry, thirdly, to classify management, and fourthly, to be applicable and practical.

For example, in connection with the characteristics of production and emission in rubber industry, identify types of waste gas and wastewater, and pollutant emission standards implemented, distinguish between main outlets and general outlets, and give methods for determining the permitted emission concentration limits and permitted emission amount, as well as requirements for unorganized emission control, comprehensive treatment of volatile organic compounds, etc., to guide the pollutant emission units of rubber products industry to fill in the application for pollutant permit, and the issuing authority to audit and determine the pollutant permit.

At this stage, the focus of control is mainly on atmospheric pollutants, that is pollutant emission of particulate matters, volatile organic compounds, and malodorous pollutants. Combined with the current usage of raw and auxiliary materials in the industry, determine the classification principles for key management and simplified management, major outlets and general outlets, and propose different management methods for key management and simplified management.