Environmental officials in east China's Fujian Province identified 565 factories yesterday that have problems that could easily pose threats to the environment.

The list is the result of an inspection of more than 2,300 factories located in 103 water source areas. The survey, which began in December, involved more than 7,000 enforcement officials.

The factories were found to have committed violations that could have led to environmental crises. Twenty-seven factories with serious environmental security problems were ordered to improve their facilities.

Xiamen Papermaking Co Ltd, cited as the worst example, was ordered to shut down, the provincial environmental protection bureau said.

"Any emergency probably leading to the pollution of potable water sources must be reported to local government or bureau within one hour after confirmation on site," said Chen Ning, the bureau's vice-director .

The bureau said it carried out another inspection in January, but little rectification has been done so far, and problems found during the inspection still haunted the local environment.

There are many reasons, Chen said. Some factories do not make environmental protection a priority. They have poor management, and their environmental protection facilities do not function effectively.

Some pollutants were still being improperly discharged, and hazardous waste was not getting proper treatment.

Improper industrial distribution and weak supervision are also contributing to harm the environment, the bureau said.

It is requiring that supervision and enforcement be strengthened. Factories discharging pollutants against rules and producing environmental crises should be strictly punished, the bureau said.

Fujian will conduct other environmental inspections frequently in the next two or three years, Chen said.

The province is calculating how much it will spend to improve the environment, especially the water sources.

(China Daily April 12, 2006)