China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection criticized eight cities in Hebei Province for inadequate emergency measures to tackle air pollution, China Times reported in wantchinatimes.com.
In a report published days after a spell of heavy smog in Beijing and neighboring cities, the ministry said it sent six inspection teams to Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Langfang, Baoding, Xingtai, Hengshui and Handan on October 9 to check their emergency smog procedures.
This month, all eight cities were listed in a report documenting 10 poorest cities of China in regard to air quality.
The ministry’s report said that although Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei had in general implemented emergency responses, all eight cities failed to come up with efficient response mechanisms.
On smoggy days, heavy-polluting vehicles should not be allowed to enter downtown Shijiangzhuang’s Third Ring Road under the city’s emergency plan. Yet only 30% of the vehicles were actually stopped, the report said.
Last week’s smog over Beijing was only dispersed by a cold wind on October 11, when an orange alert for heavy air pollution was withdrawn.
