Hebei tears down 19 steel furnaces to curb air pollution

Beijing says nearly 150 industrial plants have closed or reduced their emissions by 30 percent in the city. Similar measures are reported in neighbouring Hebei province, which has seven of the ten most polluted cities in China. Authorities in Hebei say they demolished 19 steel and iron production facilities on Sunday to curb air pollution and phase out excessive production.

According to local authorities, the removal of the facilities will reduce coal consumption by more than 4 million tons. They say sulfur dioxide emissions will be cut by nearly 10.000 tons.

Meanwhile, smoke and dust are supposed to be reduced by 7,000 tons. This is the second time that Hebei Province has demolished iron and steel production facilities.

The first demolition took place in November last year.