"You see, autumn has just arrived, and there are not many blue skies yet, it has turned into a gray haze again," complained Mr. Zhang, a citizen of Beijing. On September 8, a sudden haze once again raised people's concerns. Compared to previous years, this year's first haze in autumn came earlier.
It is understood that as the deadline for the "Ten Measures for Air Pollution" approaches, the environmental protection departments of the "2+26" cities are under pressure to meet specific targets, as well as facing anxiety from public opinion. Currently, the environmental protection departments are not only focusing on key industries but are also increasing supervision efforts to put pressure on enterprises, showing a strong determination to achieve results.
"Taking the paint industry as an example, it is one of the main contributors to air pollution. With the continuous deepening of environmental governance, the harm of paint to health and the environment has gone from being overlooked to being widely recognized in just a few years," said a relevant person in charge of the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau. In the past, governance mainly targeted production enterprises, and if the crackdown was insufficient, polluting enterprises could revive. Now, relevant departments have not only intensified their efforts but also focus on comprehensive governance of the upstream and downstream of polluting industries, which will make the polluting industry lose its source.
It is reported that since the beginning of this year, in response to air pollution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has launched the strictest environmental inspections in the "2+26" cities. During this period, a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises producing paint have closed or suspended production, and some large paint companies have also been affected.
Now, with the introduction of the "Comprehensive Action Plan for Air Pollution Control in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Surrounding Areas for Autumn and Winter 2017-2018," the "Volatile Organic Compound Content Limit Standards for Building Coatings and Adhesives" officially came into effect on September 1, and the environmental protection departments have also adopted strict measures against large polluting enterprises. It is understood that in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, many large paint companies, represented by Nippon Paint, have recently announced the suspension of their paint production lines for rectification, indicating that a reshuffle in the paint industry is underway.
According to reports, the environmental protection departments are currently implementing unprecedented efforts in air pollution control, and the governance methods are also being upgraded. The governance measures are not limited to high-pollution industries such as steelmaking, ironmaking, coking, cement, and coatings, but also attempt to guide consumption and change residents' living habits to create a situation of "jointly protecting the blue sky."
On September 8, Peking University released the ozone assessment report in the "Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Air Quality Report." The report shows that in the 13 cities of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the average ozone concentration over 8 hours this summer reached 124 micrograms per cubic meter, an increase of 12% compared to the same period in 2016.
On that day, the average temperature in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region exceeded 30°C. The ozone had not yet dissipated, and the haze had already arrived, indicating that the air governance task for this autumn and winter remains daunting.
The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is densely populated, and air pollution has a significant impact. In governance, it is appropriate for the environmental protection departments to be a bit "eager for success." In the final year of the "Ten Measures for Air Pollution," to avoid the haze "returning in spring and autumn," and to allow the public to feel significant changes, it is necessary to increase governance efforts.
