Launching a "war" against ozone, some VOCs-emitting enterprises have adopted a mode of production suspension and limitation.
Recently, all over the country, the summer mode of "sharing the same blue sky" has been activated, and friends' circles have been posting about "good weather". But starting from yesterday, the air may cause headaches and burning eyes. People in places such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region should take personal protection measures.
According to the Environmental Protection Department's announcement on the 18th, from May 18th to 19th, a pollution process will occur in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and surrounding areas. The air quality of some cities in Beijing, Tianjin, and southern parts of Hebei may reach moderate pollution levels, and in some cases, it may even reach severe pollution levels. The primary pollutant is O3 (ozone). In other regions, including Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Zhengzhou and other places, cities have clearly declared war on ozone in their urban air pollution control efforts.
A large number of enterprises have been restricted in production and shutdown.
Facing such a severe situation, environmental protection departments in various regions have strengthened the rectification efforts on VOCs emissions.
Recently, about 2,000 plywood and plastic packaging enterprises clustered along the Langpo line of Provincial Road 272 were subject to key rectification by the Environmental Protection Department due to their dirty and messy factory areas and severe unorganized emissions, and they basically did not take any measures for VOCs emissions. They commonly had small coal-fired boilers, and they were not equipped with treatment facilities.
In Handan City, Hebei Province, the Air Quality Assurance Emergency Command Center issued an urgent notice on the governance and reduction of air pollution. The notice stipulates that the municipal government has decided to activate enhanced measures for air pollution governance and reduction within the city starting from 0:00 on May 12th, and the lifting time will be notified separately. The notice requires that enterprises in key industries that do not install treatment facilities or whose acceptance is not qualified should be shut down.
From May 17th to 22nd, Yangzhou City stipulated that key coal-fired enterprises (a total of 33 enterprises) must use high-quality coal with a sulfur content of less than 0.7% and a ash content of less than 15%. 30 key exhaust gas-emitting enterprises should be restricted in production and shutdown.
The Environmental Protection Department is formulating regulations and accelerating the governance.
Last year, relevant national departments assigned VOCs reduction and emission reduction tasks to key regions and industries. Currently, 15 provinces and municipalities including Beijing, Shanghai, Anhui, Jiangsu, Hebei, Hunan, Sichuan, Liaoning, Tianjin, Shandong, Zhejiang, Hainan, Shanxi, Hubei, Fujian, etc., have successively announced pollutant discharge standards.
Since the launch of the central environmental protection inspection work this year, coal-related enterprises in many provinces such as Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi, etc., have been in a state of shutdown, production restriction, shutdown, and closure. Tianjin, Hebei, and Hainan provinces have proposed to achieve "coal-free" in the entire province for boilers with a capacity of 35 tons and below.
Since the 12th Five-Year Plan, the Environmental Protection Department has been working with relevant departments to accelerate the formulation of VOCs emission standards. However, due to the large workload of regulating VOCs and the many industries involved, significant results may not be achieved in a short period of time.
| No. | Released Chinese National Standards Related to VOCs Emissions | No. | Chinese National Standards Related to VOCs Emissions Under Development |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Integrated Emission Standard of Air Pollutants (GB 16297‑1996) | 1 | Emission Standard of Pollutants for Oil and Natural Gas Exploitation Industry |
| 2 | Emission Standard for Odor Pollutants (GB 14554‑1993) | 2 | Emission Standard for Chlor‑alkali Industry |
| 3 | Emission Standard of Cooking Fume for Catering Industry (GB 18483‑2001) | 3 | Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Pesticide Industry |
| 4 | Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Oil Depot (GB 20950‑2007) | 4 | Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Pharmaceutical Industry |
| 5 | Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Gasoline Transportation (GB 20951‑2007) | 5 | Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Fuel Industry |
| 6 | Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Gasoline Filling Station (GB 20952‑2007) | 6 | Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Coatings, Inks and Adhesives Industry |
| 7 | Emission Standard of Pollutants for Synthetic Leather and Artificial Leather Industry (GB 21902‑2008) | 7 | General Control Standard for Fugitive Emission of VOCs |
| 8 | Emission Standard of Pollutants for Rubber Products Industry (GB 27632‑2011) | 8 | Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Industrial Coating Industry |
| 9 | Emission Standard of Pollutants for Coking Chemical Industry (GB 16171‑2012) | 9 | Emission Standard of Pollutants for Shipbuilding Industry |
| 10 | Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Steel Rolling Industry (GB 28665‑2012) | 10 | Emission Standard of Pollutants for Foundry Industry |
| 11 | Emission Standard of Pollutants for Battery Industry (GB 30484‑2013) | 11 | Emission Standard of Pollutants for Electronics Industry |
| 12 | Emission Standard of Pollutants for Petroleum Refining Industry (GB 31570‑2015) | 12 | Emission Standard of Pollutants for Wood‑based Panel Industry |
| 13 | Emission Standard of Pollutants for Petrochemical Industry (GB 31571‑2015) | 13 | Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Furniture Manufacturing Industry |
| 14 | Emission Standard of Pollutants for Synthetic Resin Industry (GB 31572‑2015) | 14 | Emission Standard of Pollutants for Glass Fiber and Its Products Industry |
| 15 | Emission Standard of Pollutants for Leather Products Industry | ||
| 16 | Emission Standard of Pollutants for Textile Printing and Dyeing Industry | ||
| 17 | Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Printing and Packaging Industry | ||
| 18 | Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Dry‑cleaning Industry |
There is no need to be overly alarmed about ozone, but it should not be ignored either.
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by vehicles and petrochemical industries, under the influence of high temperatures and strong light radiation, undergo a series of complex photochemical reactions to form this secondary pollutant, ozone. In summer, with the increase in temperature and light intensity, ozone may become the primary pollutant.
Experts say that brief exposure to ozone can cause discomfort such as coughing, dry throat, chest pain, increased mucous secretion, fatigue, nausea, etc.; severe exposure to ozone will affect the structure of the respiratory tract and significantly damage lung function, causing inflammation.
Public reports show that in 1955, Los Angeles experienced the most severe photochemical smog pollution event in history. Due to air pollution and high temperatures, within just two days, more than 400 people over the age of 65 died from respiratory failure. Many people experienced symptoms such as eye pain, headache, breathing difficulties, and even death.
Therefore, for this global problem, there is no need to be overly panicked, but one should be cautious in dealing with it. After all, health is something that is extremely difficult to obtain.
