Inspection uncovers air pollution problems

BEIJING - Official inspections in key air pollution areas have revealed various problems including excessive industrial emissions, inadequate waste processing and severe pollution on the land.

As part of an air pollution inspection campaign by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, last month's check covered Beijing's suburban Fangshan district, six cities in neighboring Hebei province as well as two cities respectively in north China's Shanxi province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

According to a Monday statement from the ministry, 14 out of 65 companies inspected were found to have committed environmental violations that ranged from emissions of sulfur dioxide to inefficient dust processing.

The inspection also found many small mining workshops that had no waste processing routine and released untreated dust and waste water directly into the environment.

Pollution was severe near the land surface in some regions as a result of vehicle emissions, smoke from coal and straw as well as dust from mineral stockhouses and construction sites.

Inspection teams have instructed the companies in question to correct the issues. Those failing to do so will be punished.

In Tangshan, one of the worst-polluted cities in Hebei, one company has been suspended and various small mineral workshops have been shut down, the statement said.