All gas stations in Beijing will be retrofitted to prevent
petroleum vaporization from causing smog and help improve air
quality before the 2008 Games, an Olympics environmental advisor
has said.
Sarah Liao Sau-tung said the municipal government has started
equipping about 1,400 gas stations with vapor traps and recovery
devices on which work is expected to be completed by the end of
next May.
Also, 1,245 oil tank vehicles and 37 fuel storage areas will be
covered. In addition to improving air quality, the efforts can help
recover 20,000 tons of gasoline per year and decrease safety
hazards at filling stations.
Photochemical smog, which Beijing often suffers from, forms when
photons of sunlight hit molecules of different kinds of pollutants
in the atmosphere, creating an atmospheric condition that produces
eye irritation and poor visibility. It smells bad and makes it hard
for people to breathe.
The vaporization of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from
fueling, storage and transportation acts as a catalyst for smog
formation.
The surrounding mountain ranges that block air circulation also
help the formation of such smog in Beijing.
Sources close to the State Environment Protection Administration
(SEPA) said the neighboring Hebei Province and Tianjin Municipality
have also decided to join the cleaning drive. Beijing, Tianjin and
Hebei together cover about 200,000 sq km, a size close to that of
the UK.
"It's a huge undertaking and I am confident the measures can
help mitigate the occurrence of photochemical smog," Liao, former
secretary for the environment, transport and works of Hong Kong,
told China Daily.
(China Daily December 7, 2007)
