Guideline for Air Quality Assessment of Passenger Car to be mandatory

The Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection publicised H.B.K.J.H. [2016] No. 150, intending to change GB/T 27630-2011 (recommended standard) into a mandatory one (GB standard) on 22 January 2016. The standard should be adjusted correspondingly (both provisions and partial limits). The consultation period ends on 25 February 2016.
 
GB/T 27630-2011 was publicised and implemented in 2001. Given the limited binding effect from GB/T standard to auto manufacturers, the standard is intended to be changed as a mandatory one. The setting of some pollutants in passenger cars is loose compared with that required in international standards as it was based on the industrial level at that time. The great improvement of Chinese industry gives rise to stringer standards.
 
Combined with various opinions, the guideline therefore determines 8 major substances to be under control and provides for the concentrations for benzene, toluene, xylene, ethylbenzene, styrene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acraldehyde. See the following table for more details:
 

Substance	Original Limit (mg/m3)	Altered Limit (mg/m3)	Reference
Benzene	0.11	0.06	Stringer
Formaldehyde	0.10	0.10	Remain unchanged (with WTO standards as reference)
Toluene	1.10	1.00	Stringer
Xylene	1.50	1.00	Stringer
Ethylbenzene	1.50	1.00	Stringer
Styrene	0.26	0.26	Remain unchanged
Acetaldehyde	0.05	0.20	Determined based on international standards
Acraldehyde	0.05	0.05	Remain unchanged

 
The other important work for this amendment is to research into the feasibility and necessity of PAHs limit. However, it is not included in the standard given the limitation of source, physical properties and test method on PAHs. Besides, the TVOC-health relation is still not clear, which require more research. The standard is only applicable to automobiles that newly manufactured.

【中文版】

Further information
H.B.K.J.H. [2016] No. 150 (in Chinese)
Draft (in Chinese)