Spate of Deaths Sparks Criticism of China’s Smokeless Coal Push

(Bloomberg) -- A spate of fatal carbon monoxide poisonings across northern China is raising questions about the country's push to get rural residents to burn a special type of coal during the winter to combat pollution.

At least six people died and about a dozen people were hospitalized in the city of Tangshan in Hebei this year, state-run CCTV reported this week. More than 70 patients wereadmitted to a hospital in nearby Cangzhou on Nov. 22 because they inhaled the poisonous gas, local media reported.

The incidents have sparked discussion about whether so-called smokeless coal, which produces less ash and particulate emissions, is safe to use and whether the public has been adequately educated on how to use stoves designed for burning the briquettes. China introduced smokeless coal several years ago, and local officials have been tasked with promoting its use during the winter, when many rural households rely on burning coal to keep warm.

The nation has cut the use of coal in small, scattered boilers by 100 million tons so far, exceeding its target, National Energy Administration official Huang Xuenong said at a briefing in September. In 2017, China began a five-year plan to promote “clean heating systems” in 15 provinces in northern China, in an effort to help clear the region's notoriously smoggy urban skies.

Safety Inspection

Tangshan's municipal government ordered a citywide safety inspection at an emergency meeting on Wednesday, and emphasized the need to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. A company responsible for manufacturing smokeless coal in Tangshan told a local news agency that all their products are up to standard.

Local governments in Hebei this year provided rural residents with subsidies to encourage purchases of smokeless coal and new stoves, according to local media. Some officials forced villagers to use smokeless coal and confiscated any ordinary coal they had left, Phoenix Weekly reported.

The smokeless coal is made from high-quality anthracite and organic additives, according to a local media report.

The Hebei provincial government and Ministry of Ecology and Environment did not immediately respond to faxes seeking comment.

On Weibo, a Chinese Twitter-like service, users questioned the safety of using smokeless coal and whether there are more deaths going unreported.

“This is life-taking coal,” said one user with the moniker Tangbuku. “The government, what you are doing is taking ordinary people's lives.”

--With assistance from Dandan Li.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Lin Zhu in Beijing at lzhu243@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeffrey Black at jblack25@bloomberg.net, Sharon Chen, Dan Murtaugh

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With assistance from Bloomberg