Hebei suspends dozens of polluters in crackdown

Hebei province has suspended dozens of polluting companies that violated environmental protection rules, and will continue inspections in coming months to improve air quality.

This month, Hebei began a half-year campaign to fight smog, imposing 40 tough new measures to cut emissions from sources like burning coal, vehicle exhaust, heavy industry and construction.

The Hebei Environmental Protection Bureau sent out 30 teams and over 1,200 inspectors on Sept 5 to supervise companies and government organs. By Monday, they had inspected 15,021 companies, 16 percent of which had infractions like lacking proper equipment or unauthorized discharges of waste.