A total of 16,000 enterprises causing grave environmental pollution have been investigated and prosecuted in a nationwide pollution-control drive, authorities said Wednesday.

Meanwhile, 428 people responsible for the illegal discharge of pollutants have been penalized, said an official with the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA).

More than 641,000 law enforcement staff members in various provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities have joined in the drive to inspect 316,000 enterprises causing serious pollution.

The 10 provinces including Shandong, Laoning and Jiangsu, all in eastern China, have intensified their inspection efforts during this drive. The enterprises prosecuted in these 10 provinces accounted for 68.6 percent of the total.

In Shanxi, Hebei, Henan and Shaanxi provinces, respectively in north, central and northwestern China, 15 government officials have also been punished.

The pollution which caused the strongest complaints from local residents came from such firms as chemical works, paper mills and pharmaceutical companies.

"Some polluting enterprises, which have previously been closed, unlawfully restarted their businesses for their economic profits. During the drive, those enterprises were ordered to close," said Tian Weiyong, director of a SEPA center for the investigation of environmental accidents caused by pollution.

The above does happen from time to time due to the regional protectionism and the limited law enforcement powers of environmental protection departments, Tian noted. More efforts will be made in the future to make people running enterprises still more aware of the importance of environmental protection.

(Xinhua News Agency September 25, 2002)