China to take pollution fight to crematoriums

BEIJING: China’s northern city of Shijiazhuang will take aim at everything from coal-fired power plants to crematoriums and even public toilets in its latest effort to fix its notorious pollution problem, the city government said yesterday.

Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei province, which surrounds the Beijing metropolitan region, has given all 52 crematoriums in the city until the end of October to replace or upgrade their furnaces to ensure they meet emission standards, the government said in a statement on its website.

Furnaces at chemical, steel, non-ferrous metal and coking factories have to install ultralow emission equipment by the same date.

The moves are among 44 measures outlined in a 2018 action plan released by the city government that targets emissions from industries such as transportation, construction and open-pit mining.

But pollution sources from residential activities are also being marked, with Shijiazhuang banning outdoor barbecues and the sale of fireworks. It has also pledged action against ‘foulsmelling’ air emitted from rubbish transfer stations and public toilets.

The smog-prone city aims to cuts its concentration of particulate matter that is smaller than 2.5 microns, hazardous airborne pollutants known as PM2.5, to 74 micrograms per cubic metre in 2018, down 14 per cent from 2017.