Fewer major pollutant emissions in China

BEIJING - China reported drops in emissions of major pollutants last year, according to a government report issued Tuesday.

Summarizing China's environmental conditions in 2012, the report says emissions of chemical oxygen demand, a measure of organic pollutants in water, totalled 24.237 million tonnes last year, down 3.05 percent year on year.

Emissions of sulfur dioxide, another major pollutant, in 2012 dropped 4.52 percent from the previous year to 21.176 million tonnes, according to the report launched by the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

Moreover, the report says China reported ammonia nitrogen emissions totalling 2.536 million tonnes and nitrogen oxide emissions totalling 23.378 million tonnes, registering year-on-year decreases of 2.62 percent and 2.77 percent, respectively.

Monitoring results indicate that China's overall environmental conditions in 2012 remained roughly stable, but still grave, according to ministry officials.