Henan’s Anyang has stopped almost all sintering machines under red alert for smog

SHANGHAI, Dec 13 (SMM) – Almost all sintering machines in Anyang, Henan province, have been required to suspend operations, as the smog alert on the city was escalated to red, the highest in Beijing’s three-tier warning system, at noon Thursday.

Under a red alert activated at 12:00 CST December 12, Anyang Iron and Steel Group is ordered to shut its two sintering machines and one blast furnace, and bank another blast furnace for 120 hours.

Other steelmakers across the city are required to suspend all their sintering machines and bank blast furnaces for 120 hours.

Hebei province will issue an orange alert for heavy air pollution, the second-highest on the warning system, at noon today, prompting steelmakers in the region to deepen production cuts.

In the top steelmaking hub of Tangshan, mills that help provide heat are required to cut capacity of their sintering and pelletising machines and lime kilns by another 20%, while those who do not help provide heat should suspend those facilities.

A production cut of at least 50% is imposed on blast furnaces at mills that do not help provide heat and are graded as C-level in terms of environmental status.

Those alerts will remain in place until further notice.