The air is getting cleaner and the sky bluer in Shanghai, the
busy metropolis, the local environmental protection bureau said
yesterday.
According to official figures, from 2006, 8 tons of dust per
square kilometer fell on the city, down 23 percent on 2003. And in
the same period, the concentration of inhalable particles per cubic
meter of air dropped 11.3 percent to 0.086 mg.
As a result, 85 percent of the days last year were recorded as
having "fair" or "good" air quality. And local people appear to
have noticed the improvements.
According to a recent survey by the environment bureau, more
than 65 percent of respondents said they had witnessed more days
with clean air and blue skies.
A further 38 percent said they were getting less dust in their
homes, while only about 14 percent said they thought the situation
was deteriorating.
Yesterday's press release said that by the end of last year,
about 30 percent of the city's land area had adopted effective
measures to reduce dust.
A pilot scheme was launched in three downtown districts in 2004
in a bid to control dust levels.
At that time, a number of regulations, mostly concerning "clean"
construction methods, were issued and all related government
departments - from construction and transportation to security and
city appearance - were mobilized to enforce them.
One of the key regulations stated all construction projects must
include in their budgets measures for minimizing dust and
pollution.
Bans were imposed on equipment and tools that create high
volumes of dust and all loose materials, if left piled up for more
than two days, must be regularly sprayed with water to avoid them
dissipating into the air.
The transport of waste products must be carried out in a timely
fashion and all loose materials must be suitably covered while in
transit, the rules said.
In addition, all major roads in the city must be sprayed with
water at least once a day and pavements every three days.
Anyone falling foul of the regulations faces a fine of up to
20,000 yuan (US$2,700), while rewards are offered to those
reporting polluters.
(China Daily November 1, 2007)
