China's national online pollution monitoring system, which cost billions of yuan, is being undermined by companies tampering with data, Chinese National Radio reported yesterday.

Since 2008, the Chinese government has required companies to install monitoring systems to collect pollution data.

But some discharge pollutants secretly and tamper with monitoring data to cover up, said the report.

In the eastern province of Shandong Province alone last year, 22 enterprises were investigated and punished for data fraud, said the report.

Methods of tampering favored by companies include changing measuring ranges, damaged sampling equipment and installing applications developed by third-party organizations to modify data directly, according to Zhang Dawei, a technician with the China Environmental Protection Ministry.

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