Recently, the reporter walked into Liaoyang County, Liaoyang with the interview team of Liaoning Environmental Protection Century Tour. He learned from Mayitun Village, Shoushan Town, Liaoyang County that in 2013, seven small iron and steel enterprises in Mayitun Village were banned, 1.23 million tons of backward production capacity was eliminated, and more than 3000 tons of smoke and dust pollution were eliminated. The atmospheric environment quality of Mayitun Village was greatly improved.

This is a microcosm of the comprehensive renovation of small steel in Liaoyang County. This year, the comprehensive renovation of Liaoyang County small steel industry Ghetto will complete the target task one year ahead of schedule.

Small steel blooms everywhere, causing heavy pollution
With abundant iron ore resources and adjacent to Anshan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd., small iron and steel enterprises in Liaoyang County have flourished everywhere in the past 30 years, with more than 300 at most.

These small steel enterprises have outdated processes, simple equipment, high energy consumption, and waste of resources, causing serious air pollution and triggering a large number of environmental petitions.
How big is the impact of pollutant emissions in the Ghetto of small steel industry in Liaoyang County on ambient air quality? According to the analysis of Liaoning Academy of Environmental Sciences, before the implementation of remediation in 2012, the contribution rate of its pollutant emissions to PM10 concentration in Liaoyang County, Liaoyang, Dengta and the northeast of Anshan was 40.75%, 35.87%, 19.21% and 28.47% respectively.

In the face of these problems, the Environmental Protection Department of Liaoning Province once restricted the approval of Liaoyang County, and Liaoyang announced the ban of 179 small steel enterprises in 2007, but with little effect.

Enterprises with comprehensive rectification issues

In October 2012, Liaoning launched the "Blue Sky Project" in an all-round way, making it clear that Liaoyang County's small steel industry Ghetto is one of the three key areas to implement key breakthroughs.
In the Plan for Liaoyang County to Implement the Blue Sky Project for Steel Enterprises Rectification formulated by the Liaoyang Municipal Government, the target task of eliminating backward production capacity and upgrading Ghetto of small steel enterprises in Liaoyang County was determined to be completed within three years.

After the introduction of the "Ten Rules of Atmosphere", the CPC Liaoning Provincial Committee and the provincial government increased their efforts and decided to change the time limit for comprehensive renovation of the small steel industry Ghetto in Liaoyang County from the original three years to two years, that is, to complete the renovation task one year ahead of the end of this year.

Liaoyang County has identified 106 steel enterprises that should be eliminated. Most of these enterprises have outdated process equipment, large emissions of major pollutants, incomplete pollution control facilities, and excessive emissions. Out of 106 enterprises, 65 do not have pollution control facilities, while 41 do not have complete pollution control facilities and cannot stably meet emission standards.

In order to ensure the realization of the remediation goal as scheduled, the Environmental Protection Department of Liaoning Province, together with Liaoyang and Anshan, established a Zone defense and control mechanism of "government leadership, social supervision, environmental protection supervision, and department coordination", and implemented trans city air pollution control.

At present, according to the verification by the Environmental Protection Department of Liaoning Province using GPS positioning, 67 of the 106 enterprises to be eliminated have been eliminated in Liaoyang County, and the remaining 39 enterprises will be eliminated by the end of this year.
Steel profits increased instead of decreasing

The reporter learned from Liaoning Hongchang Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. that this company has successfully transitioned from the "two high and one capital" steel rolling industry strictly controlled by the state to mechanical and electrical product processing