Cases of environmental violations in Shandong

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　1. The case of Shandong Laigang Tieshuyuan Furnace Charging Materials Co., Ltd. illegally discharging air pollutants through a flue bypass Shandong Laigang Tieshuyuan Furnace Charging Materials Co., Ltd. is a company engaged in the production of pellets. In May 2016, inspectors from the Provincial Environmental Inspection Corps conducted an on-site inspection and found that although the bypasses on both sides of the original exhaust stack had been cut off, and one of those bypasses had been sealed, waste gas was still being emitted from the original exhaust stack. After a thorough inspection, it was found that the bypass switch was in the on position; the law enforcement officers used a stick to push the plastic bag into the cut opening, and the bag was immediately sucked back into the original discharge tube. Subsequently, following the circuit trail to the switch control cabinet, it was found to be in the open state as well. After law enforcement officers asked the company to turn off the switch, the exhaust gas from the original emission stack stopped being released immediately. Faced with the facts, the company’s management admitted that they resorted to illegal discharge through a bypass route because of the high sulfur content in the mineral materials and concerns that the online monitoring data would show excessive levels. 　　In accordance with the requirements of the Provincial Environmental Protection Department, the Laiwu Environmental Protection Bureau ordered the enterprise to suspend production for rectification, demanded that the bypass be removed immediately, imposed a fine of 200,000 yuan, and also referred the case to the local police authorities. The directly affiliated branch of the Yinshan Public Security Bureau in Shandong Province imposed an administrative detention of 5 days on the head of the enterprise’s environmental protection department. 　 2. Cases of some enterprises in Binzhou City failing to operate their pollution control facilities and discharging waste gases directly: Zouping Youyuan Building Materials Co., Ltd. and Zouping Lizhi Building Materials Co., Ltd. are both located along National Highway 309, within Linchi Town in Zouping County. Each of them has a tile production line as well as one double-alkali desulfurization tower. On the evening of July 18, 2016, during an on-site inspection, law enforcement officers found that the tile production project at Zouping Youyuan Building Materials Co., Ltd., with a capacity of 18 million pieces per year, had been approved for construction by the Zouping County Environmental Protection Bureau on August 31, 2009; however, the plant began operations without its environmental protection facilities having been inspected and approved. Zouping Lizhi Building Materials Co., Ltd. does not have the necessary environmental protection permits. Furthermore, when both companies were operating normally, their desulfurization facilities were not in use, and the exhaust gases were released directly without any treatment. On the morning of July 19, the headquarters, together with the Environmental Protection Bureau and the Public Security Bureau of Zouping County, formed a joint law enforcement team to conduct another inspection of the aforementioned enterprises, and seized control of the legal representatives of those enterprises. 　　Regarding Youyuan Building Materials Co., Ltd. and Lizhi Building Materials Co., Ltd., which had environmental violations such as the use of idle pollution control facilities, the Zouping County Environmental Protection Bureau ordered these companies to cease production and imposed fines of 140,000 yuan and 200,000 yuan on them respectively. The Zouping County Public Security Bureau imposed a penalty of 10 days of administrative detention on the legal representatives of the two companies respectively.