Guangdong pollution level falls

GUANGZHOU: Emissions of sulfur dioxide and chemical oxygen demand (COD), two major indicators of pollution, fell 5.6 percent and 5.3 percent respectively last year in Guangdong, the provincial environmental regulator said yesterday.

Due to the province's intensified efforts in recent years to reduce pollution, sulfur dioxide and COD emissions dropped to 67,100 tons and 53,700 tons last year, the Guangdong environmental protection bureau said.

"It's all thanks to the province's efforts to cut pollution in major industrial projects and relocate a number of big energy-consuming plants," said Zhou Yongzhang, director of the environment research center of Sun Yat-sen University in the city.