Beijing will implement a spate of temporary measures that include stopping
construction and closing heavy-polluting plants to ensure clean air for this
August's Olympic Games, a municipal environmental official said yesterday.
Du Shaozhong, deputy director of Beijing's Environmental Protection Bureau,
told a press conference that all digging and pouring of concrete on construction
sites will be suspended from July 20 to Sept. 20, and nineteen heavy-polluting
factories have also been ordered to reduce their emissions in the same period by
a further 30 percent.
Even more strident measures could be taken "in case of extremely negative
meteorological conditions", he added.
Along with cleaning up Beijing, China's central government has also given
nearby provinces and municipalities targets to reduce pollution by using
air-cleaning technology and closing some industry.
Beijing, which is sometimes shrouded in smog, has spent more than 15 billion
U.S. dollars over the last decade to clean its air and the improvement is
obvious.
The city notched up 67 "blue sky days" from January to the end of March, 12
more than the same period a year earlier and the highest in nine years,
according to Du.
IOC president Jacques Rogge said earlier this month that the city's pollution
will not endanger the athletes' health.
