Review Environmental policy, legislation and management of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in China Melody Hoi Yin Lau a , Kenneth Mei Yee Leung a, * , Stella Wing Yu Wong a , Hong Wang b , Zhen-Guang Yan b a The Swire Institute of Marine Science and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, China b State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Ecological Effect and Risk Assessment of Chemicals, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China article info Article history: Received 10 August 2011 Received in revised form 4 January 2012 Accepted 5 January 2012 Keywords: Persistent organic pollutants Environmental policy Environmental law Chemical regulation China abstract Since early 1980s, chemical pollution has become a serious environmental problem in rapidly developing China. This study reviewed the policy and legal framework for monitoring and management of chemical pollutants in China, with reference to the relevant experience in other jurisdictions. Although efforts in environmental monitoring of chemical contamination have been substantially increased over the last decade, China is lagging behind in terms of nationwide monitoring of chemical contamination in human population, and standardization of sampling and analytical protocols. While actively participating in various international treaties and conventions related to pollution control, China also has a very comprehensive set of environmental laws and policies. These include the newly enacted legislation on the control of new chemicals (i.e., China REACH) and the development of a set of National Environmental Standards. In addition to environmental education, these new measures will further enhance the control of chemical pollutants and facilitate effective law enforcement. Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The United Nations Environment Programme has listed 12 Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs or dirty dozen), which include polychlorinated dibenzo-para-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), hexachlorobenzene, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), aldrin, chlordane, dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro- ethane (DDT), dieldrin, endrins, heptachlor, mirex and toxaphene, under the Stockholm Convention of POPs for global action (see http://www.chem.unep.ch/pops). In addition to the dirty dozen, increasing concerns are given to emerging pollutants, such as brominated and fluorinated compounds (SC POP, 2008). These encompass a variety group of compounds such as perfluorinated compounds and polybrominated diphenyl ethers, whose toxic effects are similar to those of the classic chlorinated POPs (WHO, 1998). In the last two decades, China has undergone a rapid economic, industrial and agricultural growth. With the increase in population, the demand for agricultural products in China has also increased (NBSC, 2007). Consequently, the total uses of chemical pesticides and fertilizers have increased significantly. Furthermore, given its high population base and emerging economics, China has a fast growing demand for electronic equipment and thus it has also become a significant generator of electronic waste (e-waste). In 2008, it is estimated that the total e-waste generated within China was approximately 800,000 tonnes in which, the Pearl River Delta, South China accounted for 44% (Fang et al., 2010). It is expected that the annual total amount will increase to 883,800 and 955,400 tonnes by 2015 and 2020, respectively (Fang et al., 2010). Apart from the domestic e-waste production, China also faces the issue of illegal transboundary movements of e-waste, although transboundary trade of e-waste is banned under the Basel Convention. In 1998, it was estimated that approximately 7 million tonnes of e-waste was generated in the United States, of which 50e80% was exported (Puckett et al., 2002). Of these exported e-wastes, 90% was processed in China (Greenpeace China, 2003). Due to the lack of equipment and recovery techniques, primitive operations, including open burning for the recovery of valuable metals, plastic peeling and melting, melting of circuit boards over open fires, and metal extraction in acid baths, were used in China. Transformers are disassembled without preventing oil from leaching into the environment, while the unsalvageable parts are ultimately disposed to landfill or just dumped in local vicinity causing serious environmental problems in the surrounding area (Puckett et al., 2002; Greenpeace China, 2003). Illegal recycling of electrical and electronic equipment has been one of the major releasing sources of POPs in China (Sepulveda et al., 2010). Researches showed that the major sources of PCDD/Fs are * Corresponding author. E-mail address: kmyleung@hku.hk (K.M.Y. Leung). Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Environmental Pollution journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol 0269-7491/$ e see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2012.01.002 Environmental Pollution 165 (2012) 182e192