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Polluters Clean Up Their Act
The number of industrial pollutant dischargers that have met State environmental standards inched up 0.7 of a percentage point to 86 per cent in May versus April, according to a lately report from central environment authorities .
At a press conference yesterday in Beijing, the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) released this information in its June report on the "One Order, Two Goals" policy.
According to the policy, the country's overall pollution discharges and industrial discharges should meet State standards by December. Air and water quality in major cities should do the same.
Premier Zhu Rongji said last year in his government work report that all enterprises that fail environment standards must close.
The report showed that 86 per cent of the country's 238,098 industrial polluters have met the State environmental standards, an increase of 2,179 enterprises from April.
Half the increase stems from the forced closure of small polluters and efforts to purify emissions at other companies, environmental officials said.
Among the nation's 17,925 key polluters, mainly large State-owned enterprises, 74.8 per cent have met the State environmental standards, an additional 36 enterprises over the total for April.
Twenty of the 36 enterprises cut their pollutant discharge, while another 16 were forced to close for their failure to meet the requirements.
However, 409 of the 17,925 have not taken necessary measures, said Zhao Hualin, division director of SEPA's Pollution Control Department. Most of these companies are involved in mining, coal or steel.
About 70 per cent of the nation's pollution comes from these key polluters, SEPA statistics indicate. Pollution treatment at these companies requires more money and co-operation among government departments, Zhao said.
He said SEPA will expose monthly, via the media, those who have not met the State environmental standards.
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