On June 30, 2020, Qiannan Autonomous Prefecture’s plan for environmental
rectification and supervision assistance in the so called “3 phospho”
industries received governmental approval. In order to promote defense measures
against COVID-19, decrease industrial pollution, and to promote local
socioeconomic development, Qiannan plans to carry out a plan for environmental
rectification and supervision regarding the “3 phospho” industries of the area.
Those are phosphate ore extraction, phosphorus chemical processing, and
phosphogypsum production and storage. The plan assigns several protective
duties to local governments, outlined as follows.
One key duty to be held by local
governments is supervision and inspection of the “3 phospho”
industries. Recently, both
overt and covert inspections of 59 locations of “3 phospho” industrial plants
have taken place. Of these 59 locations, 48 did not conform to environmental
protection laws. These inspections will continue so as to ensure that
cooperating locations continue to meet environmental standards and to pressure
nonconforming locations to change their operations and meet the local laws.
Local authorities
to give frequent inspections and supportive technologies to phosphorus-based
industrial plants
Additionally, closer supervision and
assistance to phosphorus-based industrial plants will take place, on county and
city level. Guided by the problems discovered during previous special
investigations, new work methods and procedures will be considered, and great
effort will be taken to make adjustments to work measures at different
industrial plants based on their specific locations and production schedules.
Furthermore, thorough measures for environmental impact management will be
developed through scientific analysis and put into place via proper law
enforcement. After these measures are put into place, local governments plan to
enforce the environmental protection measures by forcing violating plants to
adjust their production methods to meet regulations, discard old production
methods in favor of new methods, or shut down completely. Furthermore, local governments
will make regular measurements of water quality in the Chongan River and Wengan
River in order to ensure that production plants do not cause excessive damage
to local ecosystems.
Another duty of local governments will
be to provide support to phosphorus-based industrial plants. First, local authorities will aim for a deeper understanding of the operation of
the “3 phospho” industries in order to develop the most appropriate support
measures. Then, local authorities plan to carry out training at industrial
sites, video training sessions, and other online and offline supportive
measures. Furthermore, local governments plan to help industries develop and
utilize technology to minimize and control environmental pollution, as well as
manage and carry out greener production. The local Environmental Resource
Bureaus also plan to work personally with managers of industrial plants in
order to ensure that these support measures are effective.
New environmental regulations to be
fully implemented by December
Local authorities are carrying out these efforts according to the
following timeframe. During June, goals and general strategies for
environmental protective measures were announced. During July, frequent
inspections have taken place at industrial locations in order to identify
specific problems that need to be rectified in order to meet environmental
protective regulations. From August to October, industrial locations are to
begin implementing modified production methods based on the specific results of
plant inspections. From November to December, after all modified production
methods have been successfully implemented, the local government will carry out
another round of inspections in order to ensure that the “3 phospho” industry’s
production plants are meeting regulations.
For more information, please check our resources on China’s phosphorus chemicals market or email emarket1@cnchemicals.com.