SHANGHAI, Mar 30 (SMM) – To improve air quality, the city of Handan plans will oversee staggered production during non-heating season from April 1-November 15, 2018. The city will intensify their efforts to regulate key companies, reduce pollutant emission from manufacturers, reinforce control on emission from heavy duty trucks and overhaul traffic control.

Key sectors, including steel, coking, brick-tile kilns, volatile organic chemicals (VOCs)-related, and mineral wool, are required to cut production by about 25%. The next tier of sectors, including power, cement, carbon, and casting, are required to cut production by about 20%. The sectors of glass, ceramics, and other building materials are required to cut production by about 15%.

Experts from the China Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute and the E20 Environmental Platform will jointly assess 581 enterprises in the top 10 key sectors, with the Department of Development and Reform and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. They will assess and evaluate enterprises with indicators such as emission levels, equipment use, engineering management, clean production methods and environmental impact. The enterprises will be graded A, B, C or D after the assessment to face varying production cuts. 

Enterprises in areas with urban transmission channels are required to cut production by a minimum of 5%. Steel and power enterprises within a 760 sq km radius of the main urban area are required to cut production by a minimum of 10%. Coking enterprises have to extend the coking process by four hours.

Companies in areas where the composite air quality index are in the top three in quarterly rankings are allowed to cut production by 5% or les. Coking companies can reduce the coking process by four hours. Companies in areas where the composite air quality index ranks in the bottom three in quarterly rankings are required to cut production by a minimum of 5%, and coking enterprises will have to extend the coking process by four hours .

Traffic control will be overhauled in main urban areas and built-up areas. Vehicles will be divided into five groups, with one group allowed on the road from Monday to Friday. From June 1, trucks that run on Diesel Three and Diesel Four that lack catalytic converters will be banned from the city expressway within a radius of 760 sq km. The number of delivery trucks deployed in the top 10 sectors will be reduced with the corresponding production cut in each sector.

The law enforcement inspection group from the City Environmental Protection Bureau will intensify their efforts to regulate key enterprises across steel, coking, power and cement. Those who fail to operate pollution control equipment according to guidelines or who discharge excessive pollutants will face severe consequences. Repeat offenders will be suspended for remediation and will be flagged on the enterprise environmental credit record.

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