OREANDA-NEWS. December 24, 2013. The expansion of existing paraxylene (PX) plants will no longer require ministerial approval – a move to cut red tape that could upset environmentalists and other opponents to the controversial facilities.

PX plant expansions and alterations are among 25 industrial projects that the Ministry of Environmental Protection has decided can go forward with approval from local environmental bureaus to “to simplify procedures and improve efficiency”, according to a statement on the agency’s website.

The announcement follows a pledge by the Communist Party’s Central Committee after its third plenum last month to reduce Beijing’s control over the economy.

Aside from PX plant expansions, the ministry has decided that civilian airports, natural gas pipelines and, in some areas, the creation of small coal mines should also no longer require its approval. The creation of new PX plants would still need a state-level review.

“Most are for infrastructure or for projects with limited environmental impact,” the ministry’s statement quoted an unnamed spokesperson as saying.

But the policy change will leave final approval for PX plant expansions with local governments, who environmentalists have long complained prioritise growth over potential ecological impacts.

Short-term exposure to PX – a chemical widely used in the manufacture of plastic bottles and polyester clothing – can cause irritation to the eye, nose and throat, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Chronic exposure can affect the central nervous system and even cause death.

PX projects have been a major inspiration for the rise in not-in-my-back-yard activism on the mainland in recent years. Plans to build or expand PX facilities in Kunming, Ningbo and Xiamen have all been scrapped following mass street protests.

Authorities have attempted to ease public concern by publishing pro-PX analyses in state newspapers and broadcasting television programmes telling people that the chemical is “no more harmful than coffee”.

If all planned PX projects were cancelled, the country would see the domestically produced share of the PX it consumes fall to less than 50 per cent, from 63 per cent now, the People’s Daily has reported.

“A possible consequence [of the change in approval requirements] is a rush to expand the existing facilities,” said a source close to the ministry who asked not to be named.