Beijing issues first red alert for heavy air pollution

A woman walks by a river near the Imperial Palace on a smoggy day in Beijing. [Photo by Zou Hong/Asianewsphoto]

COMMON ACTION OF BEIJING, NEIGHBORS

Beijing is often shrouded in smog, triggering huge public concern. A considerable portion of pollutants in the city come from neighboring regions, particularly industrial Hebei Province, home to seven of the country's 10 most polluted cities.

Like Beijing, many cities in the neighboring provinces of Hebei and Shandong as well as Tianjin Municipality have taken emergency measures.

Baoding, a city 150 kilometers from Beijing, will also implement an odd/even restriction on car use from Tuesday. The local government already ordered more than 2,000 enterprises to suspend or reduce their operations and 1,200 construction sites to suspend operation for the whole of December.

In the coastal Tianjin Municipality, earthwork at construction sites and vehicles transporting construction materials have been prohibited.

To try to ensure the effectiveness of anti-pollution measures, the environmental protection authorities of Beijing, Hebei and Tianjin are collaborating on a joint law enforcement action for the first time.

Industries including power supply, steel, metal, coke and concrete manufacturing are the focus of joint inspections, said Zhong Chonglei, head of the Beijing Environmental Inspection Squadron.

In Neiqiu County, Hebei Province, inspectors have been dispatched to major polluters.

Viewing one chemical plant, inspector Zhang Yongge said all three of its sets of desulfurizing equipment have been running at full capacity since the orange alert was issued.

Li Guanglei, a senior official with the county's environment protection bureau, pledged that it would take all necessary measures to reach the target of reducing emissions by at least 30 percent.

The Tianjin municipal government dispatched 16 teams to inspect construction sites, ports and factories for air pollution.

According to a national action plan issued in September 2013, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region should cut PM2.5, a key indicator of air pollution, by 25 percent from 2012 levels by 2017.