First Nationwide Pollution Census to Start in February      

The first national survey of pollution sources is to start in late February 2008, the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) announced in Beijing on January 4th, 2008.
    The survey will identify sources of industrial, agricultural and residential pollution and also calculate the number of environmental remediation facilities in operation, said Zhou Shengxian, the Director of SEPA, during a meeting held by the State Council.
    The headquarters of the census has been established, and every province, autonomous region and municipality has also set up an office to take charge of the census.
   "The result of the census will not be linked to any punishment or evaluation of the performance of local administrations," Zhou said, "any administration, company or institution should not fear repercussions but should instead guarantee true, credible results."
    Data collection will be completed in the first half of 2008, and the data collected will be analyzed in the second half. In the first half of 2009, the survey findings will be examined and approved.