Ministry to Begin Inspecting Most Heavily Polluted Regions

Consumers inquire about air purifiers at a Beijing store. With air pollution drawing widespread concern, the Environmental Protection Ministry said on Thursday inspection teams will be sent to some regions to ensure strict compliance with countermeasures. [China Daily]

The Environmental Protection Ministry announced on Thursday it has begun a six-month campaign targeting the most heavily polluted regions.

The ministry said the campaign, which will begin this month and end in March, will ensure that local governments and enterprises are abiding by regulations implemented on Sept 12 to tackle airborne pollution.

The campaign will primarily involve inspections of regions with the most smog, including the geographic cluster of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province, the Yangtze River Delta region, the Pearl River Delta region, and central Liaoning Province.

Ministry officials and environmental authorities at local government levels will conduct the investigations, inspecting every sector that could influence air quality within the regions.

They will check whether major industries have added filters to their equipment as required, if the amount of discharged pollutants is within limits, whether factories and restaurants are taking effective measures to prevent dust and cooking fumes from polluting the air, and whether local governments have taken measures to shut down polluting enterprises and remove old vehicles from roads.

Authorities plan on varying inspections, from routine checkups, secret investigations and scans during the night to inspections during the holidays, according to an official from the ministry who asked not to be named.

The official said provincial environmental departments should suspend their approvals of city or county projects if city or county-level officials are not carrying out their inspections, punishing polluters as required and publicizing the names of enterprises violating regulations.

He said all levels of environmental protection departments should establish special funds to reward residents who successfully report illegal acts by local enterprises.