The environment protection authority in east China's Shandong Province warned its major polluters on Monday of ceasing production if they could not meet the pollutant discharge standard before July 1.

The Shandong Provincial Environment Protection Bureau issued notifications on Monday to 132 enterprises that have not met the pollutant discharge standard, mainly sulfur dioxide and dust, asking them to take measures to attain the required standard before June 30.

Those that couldn't meet the standard would be ordered to stop production from July 1, according to the notification.

As a province close to Beijing, Shandong, together with the neighbouring Tianjin, Hebei and Shanxi municipality and provinces, has taken pollution treatment measures to control dust, vehicle exhaust and industrial pollution emissions, to ensure the air quality for the August 8-24 Olympiad.

The province discharged sulfur dioxide of over 1.8 million tons in 2007, down 7.12 percent from the previous year, according to the bureau.

(Xinhua News Agency April 8, 2008)