China Moves for Fresh Air during Shanghai World Expo      

It's a tough road ahead for better environment in the run-up to the Shanghai Word Expo in 2010 held May 1st to October 31st, 2010 and improvement in air quality will lead the way, Zhang Lijun, a deputy environment protection minister, told at a recent working conference. Shanghai should intensify its effort in reducing local pollutant emissions and create a regional prevention and control mechanism with collaboration with neighboring Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.
   To ensure better air quality during the Expo, Shanghai will step up control on ozone and haze pollutants, as well as NOx, VOCs, SO2 and particulate pollutants, in addition to other regular pollutants prevention, said Zhang Quan, director of the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau. The measures will be adopted aiming at related industries such as the petrochemical sector.
   The Shanghai government will issue detailed management and control measures in April 2010 concerning the manufacture, sale, storage, use, transport and disposal of hazardous chemicals during the Expo.
   In the production sector targeting manufacturers and storage companies, Shanghai will accelerate adjustment in the sector to implement a State Council guide on the hazardous chemicals, which calls for "rational planning in the industry and safe development", and tighten qualification review and approval process for hazardous chemicals companies.
    Furthermore, Shanghai will implement contingency plans regarding safety security and accident response during the Expo.
   The municipal government will also require upgrade on equipments that are outdated and dangerous. Chemical companies involved in high-risk process such as nitration, oxidation, chlorination, fluorination, sulfonation and diazotization are required to upgrade their automation controls in fields like security alarm, interlock and emergency turnoff.
   Shanghai will tighten license grants for hazardous chemicals business and halt approval for some.
   The measures to be released will also strictly control trading, storage, use and transportation of hazardous chemicals.