The Idemitsu Group, which manufactures and supplies petrochemical raw materials and products, has established the “Basic Essential Points on Quality Assurance” and “Basic Essential Points on Health, Safety and Environment (HSE)” and strives to ensure the safety of production line workers and consumers by conducting prior risk assessments of chemical substances, reducing and eliminating hazardous substances from production processes and products, and providing information on the chemical substances its products contain. In addition, we comply with domestic and overseas chemical substance-related regulations, which have grown ever stricter, and minimize not only the impact on human health but also the negative impact on the ecosystem and the environment.
Crude oil, petroleum products and petrochemical raw materials contain benzene, toluene, xylene, normal hexane and some other highly volatile substances (such as HAPs*1 and POPs*2) regulated by the PRTR Law.*3 These substances partially evaporate into the atmosphere as VOCs*4 whenever oil is transferred into or out of storage tanks, as well as when it is loaded onto tanker trucks and ships. To minimize such VOC emissions, the Idemitsu Group stores these chemicals in floating roof tanks that reduce evaporation, and carries out measures aimed at ensuring VOC recovery during transport. Chemical substances transferred to locations outside industrial complexes are disposed of in compliance with the Waste Disposal and Public Cleansing Law.
In accordance with the Law concerning Special Measures for Promotion of Proper Treatment of PCB Wastes, at our refineries and complexes, we appropriately store and manage oil containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) as well as transformers and other equipment that contain these substances. Under the same law and the national Basic Plan for PCB Waste Treatment, final deadlines have been set for the completion of the treatment of all PCB waste and, accordingly, we are steadily carrying out the processing of such waste.
In accordance with the Act for Rational Use and Proper Management of Fluorocarbons, which came into effect on April 1, 2020, we have been implementing steps to prevent the leakage of fluorocarbons. We are also considering timing the replacement of large process equipment that uses HCFCs, which have strong ozone depleting effects, to coincide with periodic shutdown maintenance at our refineries and plants.