China's environmental watchdog, the State Environment Protection Administration, has for the first time compiled a list of more than 6,000 industrial polluters who will be urged to clean up their acts.
Of the 80,000 companies that have been investigated by SEPA, 3,592 have been identified as the worst air polluters. They are responsible for 65% of all the sulphur dioxide and other industrial emissions that were spewed out by the 80,000 enterprises. Another 3,115 companies were found to account for 65% of all industrial waste water, which includes ammonia, nitrogen and organic compounds. The number of enterprises that were listed as both serious polluters of air and water came to 641.
Such well-known companies as Sinopec's Nanjing facility, a steel plant owned by Beijing Shougang Company, Mengniu Dairy Company, Beijing Capital International Airport, BOE, Beijing Matsushita Color Picture Tube Company, and Tianjin Tianyao Holding Company have been included on the list.
The companies on the list will be the first to be pressed to fulfill emission reduction goals. They will also be the first to be allocated government funding to install advanced pollution control technologies and programs. The administration will make public the data it collects on the listed enterprises on a quarterly basis and then annually upgrade the list.
