The People’s Republic of China’s Standardization Administration has released nine volatile organic compound (VOC) standards on coatings, adhesives, inks and cleaning agents to win the ‘Blue Sky Campaign’.
In 2018, the State Council of the People's Republic of China (PRC) released the ‘three-year action plan to win the battle for a blue sky’ to improve air quality. This proposes the implementation of special volatile organic compound (VOC) remediation plans for the petrochemical, chemical, industrial coating, packaging, printing and other key VOC emitting industries. It also bans the production and use of solvent-based coatings, inks, adhesives and other key industries with a high VOC content. Special enforcement action will be implemented to reduce the total emission of VOCs by more than 10% in 2020 when compared to 2015.
In June, 2020, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the PRC (MEE) announced the ‘2020 Volatile Organic Compounds Management Plan’ to reduce emissions by 10%. The plan will vigorously promote source substitution to reduce the emission of VOCs and require manufacturers of coatings, adhesives, inks and cleaning agents to prepare for the implementation of mandatory national standards for VOCs.
To achieve the goal of reducing VOCs, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and the Standardization Administration of the PRC (SAC) have successively published nine mandatory national standards. These standards contain methodology and limits for VOCs and other substances in coatings, adhesives, inks and cleaning agents. Coatings, adhesives, inks and cleaning agents are all high-risk VOC-containing materials commonly used in many industries. The publication of these mandatory national standards will facilitate relevant enterprises to reduce the use of VOCs in their products.
Highlights of the nine mandatory national standards are summarized in Table 1.
| standard | Name of the standard | Release Date | Effective Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB 38468-2019 | Limit of harmful substances of interior floor coatings | 2019.12.31 | 2020.07.01 |
| GB 38469-2019 | Limit of harmful substances of marine coatings | 2019.12.31 | 2020.07.01 |
| GB 18581-2020 | Limit of harmful substances of woodware coatings | 2020.03.04 | 2020.12.01 |
| GB 18582-2020 | Limit of harmful substances of architectural wall coatings | 2020.03.04 | 2020.12.01 |
| GB 24409-2020 | Limit of harmful substances of vehicle coatings | 2020.03.04 | 2020.12.01 |
| GB 30981-2020 | Limit of harmful substances of industrial protective coatings | 2020.03.04 | 2020.12.01 |
| GB 33372-2020 | Limit of volatile organic compounds content in adhesive | 2020.03.04 | 2020.12.01 |
| GB 38507-2020 | Limits of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in printing ink | 2020.03.04 | 2021.04.01 |
| GB 38508-2020 | Limits for volatile organic compounds content in cleaning agents | 2020.03.04 | 2020.12.01 |
Table 1
Note: For details of the standards, please refer to the national standards open system of the PRC.
SGS has test capabilities for relevant VOC standards to help enterprises to comply with mandatory national standards. SGS has been accredited by the China Metrology Accreditation (CMA) for VOCs in mandatory national standards on coatings, adhesives, inks and cleaning agents.
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