Central Gov't Takes Aim at Industry's Use of 'Evaporation Ponds' in Desert Areas

(Beijing) – The Ministry of Environmental Protection recently ordered five companies in northwestern China to halt production or fix problems related to illegal waste discharges, moves that come after top leaders issued orders late last year to tackle severe industrial pollution in the country's vast desert areas.

On February 13, the ministry announced it handled a series of pollution cases in January, including an order to close the Shilin Chemical Plant in the southern area of the Inner Mongolia region. It cited figures from the local environmental authority as showing that excessive levels of heavy metal elements and bacteria have been found in underground water around the plant since May 2014.