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350b yuan allotted for air cleanup

HK Standard

A total of 350 billion yuan (HK$435.7 billion) will be spent by 2015 to curb air pollution in major cities, the environmental watchdog said.

Thursday, December 06, 2012

A total of 350 billion yuan (HK$435.7 billion) will be spent by 2015 to curb air pollution in major cities, the environmental watchdog said.

Local governments will fund most of the programs aimed at cutting the level of harmful particles in the air in 117 cities by at least 5 percent between 2011 and 2015, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said.

Doctors warn that the tiny floating PM 2.5 particles, named for their less than 2.5-micrometer diameter, can settle in the lungs and cause respiratory problems and other illnesses.

China began publishing data on the amount of such pollution earlier this year in an effort to address concerns from residents that pollution readings were grossly understated.

Officials have acknowledged that the thick cocktail of smokestack emissions, vehicle exhaust, dust and aerosols that often fills the air in many cities is a growing concern to prosperous urban residents.

Many residents in Beijing refer to an air pollution index published by the US embassy, a move that has drawn the ire of mainland officials who have called it unscientific.

Those measurements, based on US standards, appear much grimmer than those of the city government’s and often list pollution levels as hazardous at prolonged exposure.

China has cited its reliance on heavy industry as the reason it failed to meet some of its 2011 air and water pollution reduction targets.

REUTERS

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