On Oct. 23, the Foreign Economic Cooperation Office of the Ministry of Environmental Protection(FECO) held the project progress briefing meeting for Sino-Norwegian cooperative project on persistent organic pollutants capacity building for implementing the Stockholm convention(SiNoPOP2) in Beijing. Representatives from the Department of Science and Technology, Department of Environmental Monitoring, Department of Pollution Prevention and Control, Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Norwegian Embassy, Norwegian Water Research Institute(NIVA), Tsinghua University, National Research Center for Environmental Analysis and Measurement as well as Zhejiang, Guangdong and Hubei Environmental Protection Departments, attended the meeting.

The meeting heard the general introduction of the whole project progress and work progress reports and detailed work plans in the next phase from the five subcontractors involved in the project and three demonstration provinces’ study reports on newly-listed POPs status quo and monitoring need. The participating subcontractors exchanged ideas on new POPs monitor equipment, technical personnel training, and project publicity.

All the participating representatives gave positive comments on project progress from aspects such as innovation, monitoring enhancement, standard establishment, and international cooperation. The meeting achieved the expected goals of strengthening communications and promoting project implementation.

SiNoPOP2 is the project sponsored by the government of Norwegian and China, developed by FECO and NIVA. The project revolves around monitoring methodological research for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and its salts, two of the newly listed POPs, to help the demonstration provinces establish their own monitoring methods, procedures and capabilities, carry out the concept of integrated supervision and organize training and exchange of alternatives and alternative technologies.