Violators of dust-control regulation add to air pollution

BEIJING - Inspectors from the Ministry of Environmental Protection have named and shamed violators of dust-control regulations in Beijing, as hazardous smog shrouds the capital.

Inspectors found that workers at multiple construction sites in Beijing did not halt their operations on Monday, causing a lot of dust and flouting orders to suspend operations at times of high pollution.

Violators listed in a press release from the ministry include a construction site near Zhangyi Road in Fengtai District and a large stock yard near Lugou Bridge.

In addition, some trucks were also found to be ferrying construction materials uncovered.

The ministry even published the plate numbers of the trucks.

The heavy smog prompted the Beijing municipal government to issue its first orange alert on Sunday, meaning that construction sites must stop dust-raising activities while certain kinds of trucks should stop.

An air quality monitoring station in Beijing reported a peak density of more than 900 micrograms of PM2.5, tiny airborne particles that embed deeply in the lungs.