60% of environment complaints go for air pollution

More than 60 percent of environmental violations reported by the public in April and May were for air pollution, the Environmental Protection Ministry said on Friday.

The ministry released the findings of 169 environmental cases reported by the public nationwide in May. Violation of laws and regulations were found in 80 percent of the reported cases, and they were forwarded to local environmental departments.

This is the first time the ministry has released detailed information of all the reported cases along with their current statuses.

Information about public tips for April was released in late July. Both April and May saw a high ratio of cases related to the illegal discharge of exhaust gas or dust.

Hebei, Shandong and Jiangsu provinces occupied the top three regions with the most reported cases twice, accounting for about a third of the cases in April and more than half in May.

The ministry started releasing detailed information of public tips on environmental cases on May 8. The first announcement covered reported cases from January to March.

The ministry will notify the entities or individuals that made the reports about how the cases are being handled.