China's Ministry of Environmental Protection and General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine have issued "Heterocyclic Pesticides Production industrial Pollutants Discharge Standard", which will go into effect on July 1, 2008.

This is the first pesticide industry water pollutant discharge standard in China. It will play an important role in pesticide industrial structure adjustment and technological progress.

The new standard takes clean production and management technology of heterocyclic pesticides industry as foundations, prescribes the control projects and discharge limits of heterocyclic pesticides such as imidacloprid, triadimefon, carbendazim, paraquat, atrazine and fipronil, and is applicable to pesticide companies producing above heterocyclic pesticides.

The new standard will also play an important role in eliminating high-pollution and under-developed technology and promoting low-pollution and advanced technology, and will be carried out by environmental protection administrative departments above county level.