Beijing Olympics 2008 >> Beijing to Close Small Coal Mines
9/30/2007 BEIJING (AP) -
Heavily polluted Beijing aims to close at least 1,000 small coal mines before
next year's Olympic Games, state media reported Monday. Xinhua News Agency said
the capital's bureau of land and resources and public security bureau had
ordered all unlicensed coal mines to stop work immediately, dismantle their
equipment and hand in any explosives within 15 days.
It said mine owners who do this can have their punishment lessened or dropped.
Pollution levels, especially air quality, are a huge concern ahead of the
Olympics, which start next Aug. 8.
Beijing's coal-burning factories, power plants and vehicles regularly spew
enough fumes to shroud the city of 17 million people in a brown, pungent haze.
Chinese authorities plan to shut down factories and pull cars off Beijing's
streets during the Olympics, but a timeline has not been set.
The capital is also a sprawling city, with large rural areas, where many of the
illegal mines are situated.
Contributed by AP