Publication of the Amendment to the Emission Standards for Pollutants from Medical Institutions

Recently, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly released a revision to the "Standards for the discharge of pollutants from medical institutions." The revision focuses on the problems of the current standards and the demands of environmental management. It expands the scope of application, clarifying that it applies to "dual-use" public infrastructure with isolation or emergency medical service functions during major epidemic prevention and control periods, and specifies emission control requirements to effectively enhance the ability to respond to public health emergencies. It also adds zebrafish egg acute toxicity as a comprehensive toxicity control item for medical institutions with direct emissions, supporting the control of new pollutants, strengthening environmental risk prevention and control, and water ecology protection capabilities. Furthermore, it clarifies the definition of small hospitals, disinfection requirements, pre-disinfection requirements for sewage in infectious disease areas of comprehensive medical institutions and other medical institutions, improves regulations on medical institution sludge management, and strengthens the standard enforcement's normativity and operability. Lastly, it adjusts and clarifies the supervisory responsibilities of the standard supervisory department, clarifying the responsibilities of the health administration, disease prevention and control, and environmental protection authorities.