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Fighting pollution a winter priority
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EMERGENCY measures to prevent air pollution, such as shutting down factories and construction sites, will be implemented this winter even before the regular warning system is triggered, the city's top environment official said yesterday.
Shanghai uses a four-tiered, color-coded alert system based on air quality index readings.
The lowest, or blue, warning is issued when the AQI is forecast to be between 201 and 300 over the following 24 hours. If such a reading is expected to last for 48 hours, the alarm is raised to yellow, or level 2.
"We have already made plans to suspend the operation of some heavy polluting factories and construction sites before the alarm system is triggered,"said Zhang Quan, chief of Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau.
The government has set a target to reduce the average density of PM2.5 particles ?the tiny pollutants that penetrate deep into the lungs ?to 40-45 micrograms per cubic meter by 2017. The mean density in the first nine months of this year was 50 micrograms per cubic meter, the environment bureau said earlier.
As December is traditionally one of the worst months for air pollution, authorities in Shanghai are keen to tackle potential problems before they arise.
As well as the preemptive measures, the bureau has devised a series of moves to respond to worsening conditions, it said.
In the event of a blue alert being raised, industrial plants and building sites will be put on alert, while under a yellow alarm, some such sites will be ordered to suspend operations, while vehicles carrying construction materials will be banned from the roads.
A level 3, or orange, alarm is issued when the AQI is predicted to be between 301 and 450 over the next 24 hours, while a level 4, or red, alarm is triggered when the AQI is forecast to be over 450.
Under an orange alarm, oil, chemical, steel and cement firms will be ordered to suspend operations, while if a red alarm is raised, all kindergartens, primary and middle schools will be told to close, and half of all official vehicles will be taken off the roads.
Large-scale outdoor activities will also be canceled in the event of a top-level warning, and all construction work will be halted.
The environment bureau said that over the next five years it plans to close 2,000 heavy polluting chemical and oil firms, and initiate 5,000 industrial restructuring projects.
In the same period, more work will be done to improve the environment of suburban slum neighborhoods, while 26,000 waterways will be cleaned.
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