Environmental Protection Minister Chen Jining led an inspection team to supervise in Shijiazhuang: They went directly to key polluting enterprises without prior notice.

Walking on the road in front of the fermentation workshop of Huabei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., one can smell different odors within a distance of several tens of meters.

Without prior notice or communication, directly going to the site and investigating the problems is the most common inspection method used by the inspection team. On the 24th, Minister of Environmental Protection Chen Jining conducted an inspection in Hebei Province. He did so in this manner.

According to First Finance News, on that day, Chen Jining conducted on-site visits and investigations in enterprises in Shijiazhuang City and its subordinate cities of Xinle City and Jinzhou City regarding the operation of atmospheric pollution control facilities, boiler renovations, and the production and discharge of pollutants by small enterprises. He also held a meeting to put forward requirements for the atmospheric pollution prevention and control work in Shijiazhuang City.

On the 24th, Chen Jining conducted on-site visits and investigations of some production enterprises in Shijiazhuang City.

After arriving in Shijiazhuang, Chen Jining directly drove to Hebei Xinhua Joint Stock Co., Ltd., located in Xinle City, Shijiazhuang, to investigate the problem of unorganized emissions from key polluting enterprises.

Inside the company's factory, following the pungent smell of hydrogen sulfide, they traced the source and carefully inspected the operation of the scrubber tower and the circulating pool for scrubbing wastewater. Entering the boiler room of the enterprise, Chen Jining carefully examined the recent boiler load and online emission data of nitrogen oxides of the company, and conducted a detailed comparison of the data.

"Unorganized emissions from enterprises are also an important part of pollution emissions. If this problem is not solved, even if the fixed sources achieve compliance with standards, it does not represent the actual emission level of the enterprise. We should focus on this issue as the key point for the next step and implement it earnestly and thoroughly."

Chen Jining said this to the local and enterprise personnel. VOCs are important precursors for the formation of PM2.5 and ozone, and are also the key difficulties and weak links in current air pollution control. In this special inspection, Chen Jining focused on the pollution emissions and governance status of key industries with VOCs emissions.

Chen Jining said, "Within a distance of several tens of meters, different odors can be smelled. Enterprises should start the VOCs governance work as soon as possible and strive to achieve emission reduction from the source."

Almost all counties in Shijiazhuang City have their own特色产业. However， many of them are small-scale， with poor processes， insufficient environmental protection facilities， and severe over-standard emissions. They are the tough nuts to crack in the air pollution prevention and control work.

"How many such enterprises are there in the area？ What is your process level？ How is the enterprise's profit？ Are there any environmental protection facilities installed?" ……” Chen Jining and his team visited the Shijiazhuang Wolson Board Industry Co., Ltd. At the boiler renovation site, he inquired in detail about the technological level and environmental protection facilities of the calcium silicate board industry in this area. 

Opposite the Wolson Board Industry Co., Ltd., there was a gypsum powder enterprise with its door closed. Chen Jining walked into it, stepping through the thick gypsum dust on the ground. In the simple workshop, the primitive grinding machines were covered with a thick layer of rust, and the floor of the workshop was covered with a large amount of dust. Several workers claimed that they were conducting equipment maintenance, and their entire bodies were also covered with white dust. 

"Such backward technological level, where is the competitiveness of the enterprise? If such enterprises do not withdraw, good enterprises will not enter, and a good environment will be difficult to achieve," Chen Jining said. 

On the evening of the 24th, Chen Jining presided over a meeting on the prevention and control of air pollution in Shijiazhuang City. All departments of the municipal government and the main responsible persons of each county and district attended the meeting to jointly analyze and discuss the severe situation faced by Shijiazhuang City and the next steps of work. 

In 2016, Shijiazhuang City focused on the implementation of the "Air十条" (Ten Measures for Air Pollution Control)， carried out the "Sword to Eliminate Pollution" action， but the situation it faced was extremely severe and complex. The average PM2.5 concentration for the whole year was 11.2% higher than that in 2015. It ranked the second to last among 74 key cities in the country and was among the last ten counties and districts with poor air quality monitoring results in the province. In January this year， the PM2.5 concentration in Shijiazhuang City even reached 200 micrograms per cubic meter， an increase of 51.5% compared to the same period last year.

Shijiazhuang City has earnestly implemented the requirements of the central government's deployment and has carried out a lot of work. However, it is necessary to recognize the severity, urgency, and complexity of the situation. Since October 2016, the air quality in Shijiazhuang City has declined significantly. In January and February this year, the indicators of various major pollutants have "increased instead of decreased". This is partly due to objective factors such as the weather, but more importantly, the pressure transmission is insufficient, and problems at the county and town levels are prominent. The management is lax, "disorderly and polluting" enterprises are concentrated, road dust is severe, and the implementation of emergency measures for heavy pollution weather has not been carried out. These problems have not yet been resolved.

Chen Jining hopes that through this inspection, various problems can be fully exposed and clarified. At the same time, he intends to focus on the key and weak links at the county and town levels, convey pressure, and solidify responsibilities. He will take concrete measures to solve the exposed problems.

Chen Jining said that we should clearly recognize the difficulties and problems faced in current air pollution prevention and control, carefully identify our own shortcomings, clarify work ideas, innovate work methods, and with greater determination and more powerful measures, promote the improvement of air quality. We should make great efforts to rectify "disorderly and polluting" enterprises, and for those that are severely polluting and have no hope for treatment, we should resolutely take them to legal termination. We should promote pollutant reduction, improve the ecological environment, and at the same time shape a good market order, to create space for good enterprises and promote industrial transformation and upgrading.

Chen Jining said that currently, we should focus on and implement the work at the county and town levels. We should clarify and list the governance tasks of coal, dust, and motor vehicles, and place key emission enterprises in grids. We should establish responsibility systems and strengthen refined management. We should further improve the emergency response plan for heavy pollution weather, enhance the targeting of emergency measures, and strictly implement the plan to ensure that all measures are operational and verifiable. We should strengthen technological support, organize expert teams, and help Shijiazhuang City and each district and county to strengthen source analysis, improve the scientificity, targeting, and effectiveness of the governance measures.