Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang has called for better application of the results of the country's first national census on pollution sources to better protect the environment and control pollution.

In a letter sent to a meeting, which was held recently to commend outstanding organizations and individuals in the census, Li affirmed achievements made during the process.

He urged environmental workers to use the census results to establish a prevention and control system for pollution sources.

It took more than two years for over 570,000 staff to finish the census since the State Council made the decision to conduct it in 2006.

The census surveyed nearly 6 million objects of industrial, agricultural, residential and centralized pollution control facilities, collecting about 1.1 billion pieces of data on pollution sources.

A database for the census was established and includes environment-related information from nearly 6 million objects nationwide as a resource for administration and policymaking.