Water / Soil / Ground Environment
National Effluent Standards
National Effluent Standards
The national effluent standards are uniformly applied in Japan. They are made up of two categories: the standards for protecting human health (28 items including cadmium and cyanide) and the standards for protecting the living environment (15 items).
Notes:
For some specified establishes, provisional effluent standards are applied.
Prefectures may set stricter effluent standards than the national effluent standards.
Uniform National Effluent Standards (Last update: October 21, 2015)
Items related to the protection of human health
| Chemical | Permissible Limit | |
|---|---|---|
| Cadmium and its compounds | 0.03 mg Cd/l | |
| Cyanide compounds | 1 mg CN/l | |
| Organic phosphorus compounds (Parathion, Methyl Parathion, Methyl Demeton and EPN only) |
1 mg/l | |
| Lead and its compounds | 0.1 mg Pb/l | |
| Hexavalent Chromium | 0.5 mg Cr(VI)/l | |
| Arsenic and its compounds | 0.1 mg As/l | |
| Mercury and its compounds | 0.005 mg Hg/l | |
| Alkyl mercury compounds | Not detectable | |
| PCBs | 0.003 mg/l | |
| Trichloroethylene | 0.1 mg/l | |
| Tetrachloroethylene | 0.1 mg/l | |
| Dichloromethane | 0.2 mg/l | |
| Carbon Tetrachloride | 0.02 mg/l | |
| 1, 2-Dichloro ethane | 0.04 mg/l | |
| 1, 1-Dichloro ethylene | 1mg/l | |
| cis-1, 2-Dichloro ethylene | 0.4 mg/l | |
| 1, 1, 1-Trichloro ethane | 3 mg/l | |
| 1, 1, 2-Trichloro ethane | 0.06 mg/l | |
| 1, 3-Dichloropropene | 0.02 mg/l | |
| Thiram | 0.06 mg/l | |
| Simazine | 0.03 mg/l | |
| Thiobencarb | 0.2 mg/l | |
| Benzene | 0.1 mg/l | |
| Selenium and its compounds | 0.1 mg Se/l | |
| Boron and its compounds | Non-coastal areas : Coastal areas : |
10 mg B/l 230 mg B/l |
| Fluorine and its compounds | Non-coastal areas : Coastal areas : |
8 mg F/l 15 mg F/l |
| Ammonia, Ammonium compounds, Nitrate and Nitrite compounds | Total of NH3-N multiplied by 0.4, NO2-N and NO3-N: |
100 mg/l |
| 1,4-Dioxane | 0.5mg/l | |
Remark
- "Not detectable" means that when the substances are measured by the method specified by the Minister of the Environment based on the Article 2 of the provision, the amount is less than the quantitative limit defined by that method.
- The effluent standards for arsenic and its compounds are not applied for the present to the effluents of commercial facilities belong to hotel business industry using the hot spring ( Hot Spring Law Paragraph 1,Article 2 (Law No.125, 1948) provides, the same shall apply hereinafter) which had actually gushed out when *the government ordinance as below was enforced.
*The government ordinance to amend a part of Enforcement Order of Water Pollution Control Law and a part of Enforcement Order of Waste Management and Public Cleaning Law (Government Ordinance No.363, 1974)
Items related to the protection of the living environment
| Items | Permissible Limit (Range) | |
|---|---|---|
| Potential Hydrogen (pH) | Non-coastal areas : Coastal areas : |
5.8-8.6 5.0-9.0 |
| Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) | 160 mg/l (Daily Average 120 mg/l) |
|
| Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) | 160 mg/l (Daily Average 120 mg/l) |
|
| Suspended solids (SS) | 200 mg/l (Daily Average 150 mg/l) |
|
| N-hexane Extracts (mineral oil) | 5 mg/l | |
| N-hexane Extracts (animal and vegetable fats) | 30 mg/l | |
| Phenols | 5 mg/l | |
| Copper | 3 mg/l | |
| Zinc | 2 mg/l | |
| Dissolved iron | 10 mg/l | |
| Dissolved manganese | 10 mg/l | |
| Chromium | 2 mg/l | |
| Coliform groups | Daily Average 3000/cm3 | |
| Nitrogen | 120 mg/l (Daily Average 60 mg/l) |
|
| Phosphorus | 16 mg/l (Daily Average 8 mg/l) |
|
Remark
- The permissible limit by 'daily average' is provided for the average contaminated status of effluent per day.
- The effluent standards listed in this table apply to the effluents of factories or commercial facilities which discharge 50m3 or more of effluent per day on average.
- The effluent standards for hydrogen ion activity (pH) and dissolved iron are not applied to the effluents of factories or commercial facilities belong to the sulfur mining industry (including mining industry which mines pyrites coexisting with sulfur).
- The effluent standards for hydrogen ion activity (pH),copper, zinc, dissolved iron, dissolved manganese and chromium are not applied for the present to the effluents of commercial facilities belong to hotel business industry using the hot spring which had substantially gushed out when the *government ordinance as below was enforced.
*The government ordinance to amend a part of Enforcement Order of Water Pollution Control Law and a part of Enforcement Order of Waste Management and Public Cleaning Law (Government Ordinance No.363,1974) - The effluent standards for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) exclusively apply to the effluents discharged into public waters other than seas and lakes, the effluent standards for chemical oxygen demand (COD) exclusively apply to the effluents discharged into seas and lakes.
- The effluent standards for nitrogen content exclusively apply to effluents discharged into the lakes designated by the Minister of the Environment as being susceptible to lake phytoplankton blooms due to nitrogen, sea areas (including lakes which chlorine ion content of water is beyond 9,000mg/l, the same shall apply hereinafter) designated by the Minister of the Environment as being susceptible to marine phytoplankton blooms due to nitrogen, and public waters which flow into above water areas.
- The effluent standards for phosphorus content exclusively apply to effluents discharged into *the lakes designated by the Minister of the Environment as being susceptible to lake phytoplankton blooms due to phosphorus, *the sea areas designated by the Minister of the Environment as being susceptible to marine phytoplankton blooms due to phosphorus, and public waters which flow into the above water areas.
*'the lakes designated by the Minister of the Environment' : the lakes concerned with the effluent standards for nitrogen content or phosphorus content based on the Environment Agency Notice No.27,1985
*'the sea areas designated by the Minister of the Environment' : the sea areas concerned with the effluent standards for nitrogen content or phosphorus content based on the Environment Agency Notice No. 67,1993