Officials monitor plants to clean up the environment
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E-mail China Daily, February 18, 2013
"A lot of chimneys have been torn down in the past decade, more than 100, and I think the environmental quality has improved dramatically in recent years," said Li Yongyu, a resident in his 40s.
Companies cannot secretly emit pollutants since the system went into operation, and local environmental watchdogs now only worry about unexpected incidents, like those caused by weather, said Cao Langbo, an official at the bureau.
The bureau intends to build information platforms in the city's five squares this year.
The platforms will have devices that can test the noise and sulfur dioxide content in the air, for instance, and LED screens that display real-time test results to the public.
The bureau pays close attention to residents' concerns.
Those who want to complain about environmental issues can call a hotline and post comments online, and the bureau addresses such complaints as soon as possible.
Citizen representatives have access to the forums held by the bureau once or twice a year, where they can offer advice on the environment and ask officials questions.
"There are about 30 representative netizens, all of whom are local residents. We select them because they complain the most about the environment and are concerned," Li said.
Public supervision plays an important role in green efforts, and the local government's communication and exchange of ideas with non-governmental green organizations will help discover the subtle problems existing in the green work, said Hou Yuxuan, an environmental protection researcher at CIC Research Center, an industrial consultancy in Shenzhen.
Although Zhuzhou has made strides in improving the environment, many problems remain, and these problems can be solved only with the backup of the central and provincial governments, Li said.
The problems include the 2 million tons of industrial waste in Qingshuitang of Shifeng district, discharged by Zhouzhou Smelter Group Co Ltd and Hunan Zhuzhou Chemical Industry Group Co Ltd, which began producing the waste in the 1950s, he said.
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