June 1 – At a press conference held today, the Guangzhou Municipal Government announced that the Guangzhou Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau (GMEPB) had achieved significant results in cleaning up the local environment last year. And, that during the year there were 332 days with good air quality, up 7.9 percent from a year ago; and, that only two days had poor air quality; overall, the city's air quality rating has risen from Level III to Level II.

     The GMEPB reported no smog during the two days when the pollution was at its worst, indicating that there was no definite correlation between smog and the air pollution index.

    The GMEPB has intensified its efforts to curb excessive discharge of sulfur dioxide, pollution from vehicle emissions, fumes from catering establishments and dust. In 2005, as vehicular pollution in Guangzhou was brought under control, discharge of sulfur dioxide was reduced to 149,000 tonnes; additionally, 252 dormant construction sites in the city were cleaned up, with 190 being greened or hardened to prevent dust pollution.

    In terms of water quality in 2005, 96.79 percent of Guangzhou's centralized drinking water supply met hygiene standards, up 8.07 percent over 2004.

    With respect to noise pollution, Guangzhou has met applicable standards with an ambient noise level of 55.2 decibels and a road traffic noise level of 69.3 decibels.

    The Vice Director of the Environmental Protection Bureau, He Rongyou, pointed out that Guangzhou still faces many tough environmental protection challenges, such as the severe pollution caused by the discharge of massive quantities of industrial sulfur dioxide into the estuary of the Pearl River. (translated by Guangzhou Association of Foreign Affairs Translators)