Heavy haze demands effective pollution control

The dense haze continued in Beijing and neighboring areas for a third day on Friday with a yellow alert remaining in effect.

The first bout of heavy smog this autumn has forced authorities in Beijing and Hebei Province to cut industrial production and suspend construction work. Tianjin Municipality and Henan Province have also issued haze alerts.

Thirty-five companies have halted production and 74 others reduced emissions by 30 percent in the capital, said the Beijing Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology on Friday.

The air quality index (AQI) for Xingtai City in Hebei was 500 on Friday morning, making it the worst polluted city, again. Xingtai, an industrial city 400 km south to Beijing with heavy industries such as coking, glass and steel,just shook off the title of the country's worst polluted city in July and August.

Within a 25-km radius of downtown Xingtai, there are 133 plants in iron and steel, cement, glass and power, etc. which consume 16 million tonnes of coal per year. Local officials call the polluting firms the "black necklace" of the city.

"We feel huge pressure to reduce pollution,"said Xu Huailiang, deputy head and chief engineer of Xingtai Environmental Protection Bureau. Xu, who has worked in the bureau for 30 years, says he feels ashamed whenever people talk about Xingtai as the country's worst polluted area.

The city is taking action. This year, it has cut iron and steel capacity by 1.85 million tonnes and coking capacity by 1 million tonnes. By 2017, the city will have cut a total of 5 million tonnes from iron and steel capacity.

Sept. 30 was set as the deadline more than 2,000 companies in the city to discharge pollutants in line with environmental protection requirements or be closed down.

"The pollution situation is grave, but we have a firm resolve to deal with it," said Xu, adding environmental officials are checking whether companies have met the targets.

The Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei region has been listed as the worst polluted region by the top environmental watchdog. Coal burning, vehicle exhausts and dust are among the major pollutants.