Ministry to release data on China’s biggest polluters  

環保部:已初步掌握北上廣霧霾元兇

A picture of smog particles under the microscope taken by Zhang Chao, a micrograph enthusiast (Photo source: China Daily)

(ECNS) -- An official with the Ministry of Environmental Protection has said that data concerning key culprits behind the smog shrouding China's major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou will be released soon, the Express News reported on Friday.

Progress has been made in monitoring PM2.5 pollutants --hazardous particulates smaller than 2.5 microns--in the country's major cities, Wu Xiaoqing, vice minister of Environmental Protection, said at a working conference on Thursday.

A list of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), one of the contributors of PM2.5, has been developed by the department, according to Wu.

The most recent analysis shows that 80 percent of the air pollutants in Shanghai are released by local emitters, said the vice minister.

Data concerning the major contributors of smog in Beijing and other cities will also be released soon, which is expected to provide scientific support for the development of future policies, Wu added.