Industry ordered to curb emissions

The Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau has ordered large industrial enterprises to reduce emissions due to the air pollution that has clung to the city over the last 10 days, local media reported Wednesday.

Shanghai's Air Quality Index (AQI) rose as high as 254 on Wednesday, surpassing the 200 mark that indicates heavy pollution, according to the Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center.

Pollution levels began to rise Tuesday night when a weak cold front brought in pollutants from northern China, said Zhao Qianbiao, a monitor with the Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center. "The pollution has persisted because the stable atmosphere has allowed pollutants in the city to accumulate," Zhao told the Global Times.

The environmental bureau has asked major industrial enterprises, such as large power and steel plants to do their part to improve the city's air. For example, it ordered power plants to begin using low-sulfur coal to cut down on the pollution entering the atmosphere.

That measure should help reduce levels of PM 2.5, the pollutant most responsible for the rise in the AQI over the last 10 days, said Qian Hua, vice director of the Atmospheric Environment Institute at the Shanghai Academy of Environmental Sciences.

"The use of low-sulfur coal will reduce pollutants in a short term because the sulfur dioxide that is released produces substances that make up the majority of PM 2.5," Qian told the Global Times.

PM 2.5 stands for particulate matter that is 2.5 micrometers or smaller in diameter. It is especially dangerous because the small size of the particulates allows them to lodge deeply in the lungs, where they can aggravate repository illnesses.

The bureau also ordered industrial dust to be better controlled by spraying it with water.

This measure will help reduce levels of PM 10, another key pollutant sullying the city's air, Qian said.

It also asked industrial enterprises to use their environmentally friendly facilities and carefully check to make sure that no pollutants are leaking. The environmental bureau vowed to step up oversight of heavily polluting enterprises.

However, the city should do more to reduce air pollution over the long-term, Qian told the Global times.

Because automobile exhaust is one of the primary sources of PM 2.5, Qian suggested that the city try to get more heavily polluting vehicles off the road. He also advised residents to leave their cars at home more often and use public transportation.

Pollution levels were expected to fall late Wednesday when another cold front was predicted to sweep into the city, Zhao said.

The environmental monitoring center advises residents who suffer respiratory illnesses, especially children and senior citizens, to stay inside on days when the pollution is heavy.