The Ministry of Environmental Protection, together with the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, released the "Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Cement Industry" (GB 4915-2013), the "Standard for Pollution Control on Co-processing of Solid Wastes in Cement Kiln" (GB 30485-2013) and its supporting "Technical Specification for Environmental Protection of Co-processing of Solid Wastes in Cement Kiln" (HJ 662-2013), as well as amendment sheets to six emission standards for the non-ferrous metal industry including the "Emission Standard of Pollutants for Lead and Zinc Industry", setting special emission limits for air pollutants.

　　A responsible person introduced that China's cement output reached 2.21 billion tons in 2012, accounting for 56% of the world's cement output. While supporting the rapid development of the national economy, the cement industry has also brought serious environmental pollution. According to statistics, the PM, SO2, and NOx emissions from China's cement industry account for 15%-20%, 3%-4%, and 8%-10% of the national total emissions, respectively, making it a key industry for pollution control. At the same time, domestic and international experience shows that using cement kilns for co-processing hazardous waste, domestic waste, contaminated soil, etc. is an important way to effectively dispose of solid waste. However, in addition to conventional pollutants, the co-processing process also generates highly toxic pollutants such as heavy metals and dioxins. There is an urgent need to issue targeted pollution control standards to standardize management and control risks.

　　The responsible person stated that the emission standard of air pollutants for the cement industry was first issued in 1985, revised in 1996 and 2004, and this is the third revision.

　　The responsible person said that compared with the current standard, the new standard expands the scope of application, adding bulk cement transfer stations on the basis of the original cement raw material mining, cement manufacturing, and cement product production; adjusts the air pollutant emission limits and adds special emission limits for air pollutants applicable to key areas. The new standard focuses on tightening PM and NOx emission control requirements. Based on the technological progress in dust removal and denitrification, the PM emission limits specified in the new standard are tightened from the current standard's 50 mg/m3 (for thermal equipment such as cement kilns) and 30 mg/m3 (for ventilation equipment such as cement mills) to 30 mg/m3 and 20 mg/m3; the NOx emission limit specified in the new standard is tightened from the current standard's 800 mg/m3 to 400 mg/m3, promoting cement enterprises to adopt measures combining process control (such as low-NOx burners, staged combustion in precalciner, fuel substitution, etc.) and end-of-pipe treatment (currently the more mature and feasible is SNCR technology) to effectively control NOx emissions.

　　The responsible person further introduced that the new standard also adds control indicators for ammonia (NH3) and mercury (Hg), strengthening the requirements for preventing odor nuisance and heavy metal pollution. Taking into account the renovation of denitrification and dust removal facilities in existing enterprises, as well as the national policy requirements for adjusting overcapacity and strengthening air pollution prevention and control, new enterprises shall implement the new standard from March 1, 2014, while existing enterprises shall implement the original standard until the end of the transition period on July 1, 2015.

　　The responsible person emphasized that for co-processing of solid waste in cement kilns, in addition to the "Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Cement Industry" (GB 4915-2013), the "Standard for Pollution Control on Co-processing of Solid Wastes in Cement Kiln" (GB 30485-2013) shall also be implemented. GB 30485-2013 follows the principle of whole-process pollution control and puts forward corresponding control requirements for the pollution nodes of co-processing solid waste in cement kilns, including control of the types of waste allowed for co-processing, control of the feeding of harmful elements in waste, selection of feeding points, and control of flue gas pollutant emissions. To enhance the operability of the standard, the Ministry of Environmental Protection also formulated the supporting "Technical Specification for Environmental Protection of Co-processing of Solid Wastes in Cement Kiln" (HJ 662-2013), which specifically stipulates the environmental protection technical requirements for the entire process of co-processing solid waste in cement kilns.

　　According to estimates, after the implementation of the series of new standards for pollutant emission (control) in the cement industry, PM emissions from the cement industry are expected to be reduced by about 770,000 tons from the current 2-2.5 million tons, a reduction of 30.8%-38.5%; NOx emissions are expected to be reduced by about 980,000 tons from the current 1.9-2.2 million tons, a reduction of 44.5%-51.6%, bringing the industry's annual NOx emissions to 1-1.2 million tons, and effectively controlling emissions of hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride, heavy metals, and dioxins, while contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

　　The responsible person pointed out that following the emission standards for thermal power, steel, and other industries, the "Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Cement Industry" released this time specifies special emission limits for air pollutants, and the amendment sheets to six emission standards for the non-ferrous metal industry released at the same time also specifically add special emission limits for air pollutants. According to Announcement No. 14 of 2013 of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, new enterprises in 47 prefecture-level and above cities in 19 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) in the "three regions and ten clusters" shall implement the special emission limits for air pollutants from the date of implementation of the new standards. Local provincial people's governments may expand the scope and requirements for implementing special emission limits to intensify air pollution prevention and control in key areas.

　　In addition to the above standards, the "Emission Standard of Pollutants for Battery Industry" (GB 30484-2013) and the "Discharge Standard of Water Pollutants for Leather and Fur Processing Industry" (GB 30486-2013) were also released at the same time. These two new emission standards play an important role in strengthening the control of heavy metal pollutant emissions.

　　The responsible person stated that China is the world's largest battery producer and exporter, with exports of zinc-manganese batteries exceeding 60%, secondary batteries exceeding 65%, and solar cells exceeding 90%. The battery industry is a key industry for heavy metal consumption and emission. In recent years, heavy metal pollution incidents have occurred frequently, and a considerable part of them were caused by pollution from battery enterprises (especially lead-acid battery enterprises).

　　The responsible person said that currently, China's battery industry implements the comprehensive emission standard formulated in 1996, which has low entry thresholds and weak targeting. Therefore, the Ministry of Environmental Protection formulated the "Emission Standard of Pollutants for Battery Industry" (GB 30484-2013), tightening the emission control requirements for pollutants such as lead, mercury, cadmium, nickel, zinc, manganese, and silver for existing and new battery enterprises, as well as the limits for fugitive emissions at plant boundaries, clarifying the characteristic pollutant control indicators for different types of battery enterprises, and adding special emission limits. The new standard legally requires local authorities to take measures such as formulating and implementing local standards, raising environmental impact assessment requirements, and strengthening environmental quality monitoring in sensitive areas. It also explicitly requires enterprises to strengthen self-monitoring and environmental information disclosure, effectively improving the level of environmental risk prevention and control in the battery industry.

　　The responsible person pointed out that China's leather production scale ranks first in the world, and the industry faces prominent problems such as large pollutant discharge, complex sewage composition, uneven pollution treatment levels among enterprises, and low promotion of cleaner production. Currently, the industry generates 160 million tons of wastewater annually, including about 404,000 tons of COD, 16,000 tons of ammonia nitrogen, and 1,280 tons of total chromium. The current comprehensive emission standard has loose limits, low entry thresholds, and weak targeting.

　　The responsible person introduced that the "Discharge Standard of Water Pollutants for Leather and Fur Processing Industry" (GB 30486-2013) clarifies the indicator items for characteristic pollutants such as total nitrogen and chloride ions that should be key controlled in wastewater discharge from the leather and fur processing industry, and tightens the emission limits and benchmark discharge volume indicators based on the development of water pollutant treatment technology in the industry. After the full implementation of the new standard, it is expected that annual COD and ammonia nitrogen emissions can be reduced to 11,800 tons and 2,380 tons, respectively, with reduction rates of 57.2% and 67.4%. At the same time, it will optimize the industrial structure and force a number of small and weak enterprises with outdated production equipment, low process technology levels, and incomplete environmental pollution treatment facilities to be eliminated.

　　The responsible person emphasized that the revision of the "Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Boilers" (GB 13271-2001), a key supporting standard for the implementation of the "Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan", and the "Standard for Pollution Control on the Municipal Solid Waste Incineration" (GB 18485-2001), which has attracted widespread public attention, is being vigorously promoted. The revised drafts have tightened pollutant emission limits and raised monitoring requirements. At present, both have passed technical review and have been submitted to the Ministry of Environmental Protection for administrative review. Given that the revision of these two standards has a wide impact on all regions, industries, and public life, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has decided to solicit public opinions on the revised drafts for a second time. The deadline for comments is January 15, 2014. All parties are welcome to put forward valuable opinions and suggestions.