China releases list of alternatives to toxic and hazardous raw materials (products)
On January 14, 2013, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China issued a notice to the public, officially releasing the "National Catalogue of Alternatives to Toxic and Hazardous Raw Materials (Products) Encouraged (2012 Edition)".
To implement the "12th Five-Year Plan for Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction" and the "12th Five-Year Plan for Promoting Cleaner Production in Industry," and to guide enterprises to use low-toxicity, low-harm, and non-toxic raw materials as much as possible in the production process, reduce the content of toxic and harmful substances in products, and reduce or avoid the generation of pollutants from the source, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China issued the National Catalogue of Encouraged Substitutes for Toxic and Harmful Raw Materials (Products) (2012 Edition).
The "National Catalogue of Encouraged Alternatives to Toxic and Hazardous Raw Materials (Products) (2012 Edition)" recommends different alternatives for heavy metals, organic pollutants, pesticides, and other toxic and hazardous substances. The catalogue is divided into three categories based on the type of alternative:
1. Research and Development Category: Refers to raw materials (products) that urgently need to be developed;
2. Application category: refers to raw materials (products) that have been successfully developed, have good prospects for promotion and use, but have not yet achieved industrial application;
3. Promotion category: refers to raw materials (products) that are already mature and require increased promotion efforts and expanded application scope.
Please refer to the appendix for the "National Catalogue of Alternatives to Toxic and Hazardous Raw Materials (Products) Encouraged (2012 Edition)".
The Chinese government is expected to soon release two more catalogs: an updated catalog of hazardous chemicals and a list of hazardous chemicals requiring priority environmental management. Once these catalogs are published, companies will be required to assume greater responsibility for reporting and assessing the environmental and human health impacts of the listed chemicals.
Starting March 1 this year, companies are also obligated to report to the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) on the environmental impact of the chemicals they produce, use, import, and export.
Sources: Chemical Watch (2013-01-16) (Compiled by PIDC) Attachment file:National Catalogue of Toxic and Hazardous Raw Material (Product) Alternatives Encouraged by the State_2012.pdf
