Beijing levies first fine on air polluters

Beijing issued its first administrative penalty decision on Friday to a local heating company that violated the city's new environmental protection ordinance.

Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Corps sent the notice to the Beijing Hongxianghong Heating Company demanding it rectify its behavior within three days and pay a 100,000 yuan ($16,260) fine.

Beijing environmental protection inspectors launched a campaign early morning on March 1 when the new regulation took effect to test the emissions of companies, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Twenty-five companies were found to have excessive emissions of pollutants on March 1, while 11 companies lacked devices to reduce dust.

Hongxianghong's 20-ton boiler let out a sulfur-dioxide density of 352 milligrams a cubic meter and nitrogen oxide of 250 milligrams, according to test results from Beijing Municipal Bureau of Environmental Protection.

The Beijing standard for sulfur dioxide is 50 and nitrogen oxide is 200 milligrams per cubic meter.

Workers did not add sufficient alkaline substances at the desulfurization link, a senior inspector said, causing excessive emissions on March 1.