Chinese companies handed blacklist of polluting products

The Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) on Friday released a list of products and crafts that companies are advised to avoid on the grounds that they pose high pollution risks. The list, including 722 products and 92 crafts, has also been offered to 13 departments including the People's Bank of China and the ministries of commerce and finance for guidance in their choice of products and crafts, the MEP said in a statement. The list has been drawn up to help groups and individuals clearly identify environment-averse items in safety supervision, decision-making and restrictions in policy support so as to limit manufacture, use and export of these products. According to the ministry, more than 300 products on the blacklist have already been excluded from export tax rebates and banned in the processing trade by tax and trade authorities. Many blacklisted products involve heavy metal pollution and high emission of pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, chemical oxygen demand and ammonia nitrogen. The list was first released in 2007, and Friday's version integrates those of previous years and also includes two categories of environmentally friendly crafts and key environmental protection facilities that it is hoped will become more widely used by companies.