North China cities issue air pollution orange alerts

Fourteen cities -- including Beijing, Tianjin, Tangshan and Baoding -- had issued orange pollution alerts, the second highest warning, as of Wednesday.

Seven inspection teams are currently reviewing the implementation of air pollution policies in Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Tangshan, Baoding, Langfang, Xingtai and Handan after being dispatched by the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP).

Chen Jining, head of the MEP, on Tuesday visited factories in Beijing, such as Yanshan refinery, to supervise the implementation of emergency response measures during bouts of heavy air pollution.

MEP deputy head Zhao Yingmin led an inspection team to Tianjin.

In Shijiazhuang, a number of Dongfeng-registered trucks lacked environmental information lists, while diesel buses in Xingtai seriously exceeded emission standards and some gas stations lacked certain equipment.

They also found "poor" air pollution emergency plans at several construction sites.

A medicinal chemical company in Shijiazhuang is currently being investigated by the police for severe emissions due to outdated production equipment, and its factory floor was subsequently closed.

There were also firms that refused to cooperate with inspectors. In Tianjin, a concrete firm did not cooperate with inspectors and failed to provide the required materials.

The MEP has submitted all discovered issues to local governments, accompanied by demands for prompt corrections and feedback. Endi