Factories pulled up over poor air quality in China

Local environmental protection authority pulled up several factories in suburban Fengxian District for emitting waste smoke and pungent smell that affected residents for a week. Law enforcement officers have asked a construction factory to dismantle an oil painting workshop before 5pm today in the Shanghai Chemical Industry Zone in the district because the workshop was found discharging waste smoke into the air without any processing. “A painting factory which failed to provide a certificate on the quality of its wastes and a wood factory have been told to renovate their facilities. They will be inspected again before they can resume operation,” said Wang Huiping, deputy director with the Fengxian Environmental Protection Bureau. The bureau has launched an inspection of all companies and factories after residents complained of a pungent smell from factories near the Haiwan Residential Area and a university town of the district. “Five law enforcement teams have been dispatched to inspect the factories. “Any companies failing to meet the set standard will be suspended,” Wang said. The Shanghai Wangxiang Wood Industry Co, for instance, has been asked to work out a renovation plan which will be evaluated by the bureau’s expert panel before being allowed to resume operation. However, residents complained that the strong smell from the factories was still around. The environmental protection authority said the smell was inevitable since the smoke from the chemical factories will always remain even when they meet the quality standard. “The key to the problem is that the residential area was too close to the chemical zone,” Wang added. The zone covering 12 square kilometers is built along with the South Huating Industry Zone and Xinghuo Industry Zone, which are the earliest industrial zones built in the 1990s. Large amount of commercial buildings have sprung up near the industrial zones in recent years. A university town has also been built near the zone. Plans are also afoot to build an air quality monitoring system near the zones.