Published on ShanghaiDaily.com (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/)
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2008/200811/20081119/article_381183.htm
Stricter controls reduce pollution across nation
Created: 2008-11-19 1:25:06
TOUGHER environmental controls reduced the amount of pollution in China in the first half of this year, Minister of Environmental Protection Zhou Shengxian said yesterday.
Emissions of chemical oxygen demand, a measure of water pollution, totaled 6.74 million tons in the January-June period, 2.48 percent less than that of the same period of last year.
Sulfur dioxide emissions contributing to air pollution, mainly from coal use, were 12.13 million tons, a drop of 3.96 percent from last year's amount, Zhou said.
"The dual reduction was achieved through continued pollution control measures as well as the closure of some outdated plants that consumed too much energy," Zhou said.
In 2008, China's power industry installed flue gas desulferization (FGD) technology at some coal-burning power plants with a total generating capacity of 40,600 megawatts.
New sewage treatment facilities were built to treat 6.78 million tons of sewage daily. Because that's more than older facilities, the amount of water pollution in some areas was reduced.
China also closed some smaller power plants because they failed to meet requirements for clean production.
The government's decisions to reduce the production of high energy-consuming materials such as steel, electrolytic aluminum and cement also lowered pollutant emissions.
The ministry also tightened environmental evaluation standards on proposed projects in power, steel and petrochemical industries.
Emissions of chemical oxygen demand, a measure of water pollution, totaled 6.74 million tons in the January-June period, 2.48 percent less than that of the same period of last year.
Sulfur dioxide emissions contributing to air pollution, mainly from coal use, were 12.13 million tons, a drop of 3.96 percent from last year's amount, Zhou said.
"The dual reduction was achieved through continued pollution control measures as well as the closure of some outdated plants that consumed too much energy," Zhou said.
In 2008, China's power industry installed flue gas desulferization (FGD) technology at some coal-burning power plants with a total generating capacity of 40,600 megawatts.
New sewage treatment facilities were built to treat 6.78 million tons of sewage daily. Because that's more than older facilities, the amount of water pollution in some areas was reduced.
China also closed some smaller power plants because they failed to meet requirements for clean production.
The government's decisions to reduce the production of high energy-consuming materials such as steel, electrolytic aluminum and cement also lowered pollutant emissions.
The ministry also tightened environmental evaluation standards on proposed projects in power, steel and petrochemical industries.
Xinhua
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