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Opening its eyes
By Yu Tianyu (China daily)
Updated: 2008-05-26 13:53 In the past, Zhou Hong, a retired blind worker living at Shenyang, capital of China's northeast Liaoning province, struggled to turn on the stove for breakfast every morning, and sometimes singed her fingers. Because of noise from the nearby Shenyang Shenhai Thermal Power Plant, it was quite difficult for her to be guided by what she heard. "Before, when I was pouring boiled water into the thermos flasks, I didn't know when it would be full. I also couldn't distinguish directions and always bumped on the furniture," Zhou says, frowning. But thanks to Shenyang Shenhai Thermal Power Co Ltd, a 12-meter noise-resistant wall has been built with an investment of 3 million yuan ($432,426.18). The wall blankets the power plant sound and ensures a safe and convenient life for the 150 households in the blind community opposite the plant. The noise prior to the wall was estimated by the local environmental bureau at between 70-80 decibels - twice to four times as loud as ordinary conversation or equivalent to the sound of a passing car from 10 feet away. At present, the noise is estimated at 50 to 60 decibels. Sixty decibels is about equivalent to the sound of ordinary conversation. Zhou smiles, saying now she is doing chores without assistance of her family, and can take care of her grandchildren. That is not the only work which Shenhai is doing to improve the quality of life and the environment in Shenyang, a traditional industrial and heavily polluted city. Shenyang Shenhai Thermal Power Company Limited, 51.5 percent owned by China Resources Power Holdings Co Ltd, consists of three 200 mW heat and power co-generation units, with an annual capacity of 3.8 billion kWh. Shenhai is responsible for generating one fifth of the electricity in Shenyang, and supplying more than one million people with heating in winter, for an area of 13 million sq m. "We're not only providing warmth for people and power for economy, but also a bluer sky and better environment," says Li Yingbi, deputy general manager of Shenhai Thermal Power. Previously, Shenhai was one of biggest polluters in Shenyang. It discharged 16,600 tons of soot in 2005, accounting for 18 percent of the city's total and 13,900 tons of sulfur dioxide, equal to 11 percent of the whole. In 2006, Shenhai began efforts to clean up its act by investing billions into the construction of environmental protection facilities, including waste water treatment, soot and slag utilization, desulphurization facilities and the noise-resistant wall. (For more biz stories, please visit Industries)
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