In this image, the blue/purple areas show low ozone, while the red areas indicate higher ozone levels. [Photo/VCG] China has discovered almost 30 metric tons of CFC-11, a banned ozone-depleting substance, at two illegal factories in two provinces, a senior environmental official said on Wednesday. About 178 tons of raw materials used to make CFC-11 were also confiscated, Liu Youbing, a spokesman for the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, told a news conference in Beijing. People involved in the illegal production at the two factories, in the provinces of Liaoning and Henan, have been transferred to the judicial authorities for prosecution, he said, and the confiscated materials, which have been sealed up for safekeeping, will be disposed of by qualified companies. He said the ministry has scrutinized 1,172 companies in a special campaign targeting ozone-depleting substances launched in early August, and found CFC-11 in some batches of raw materials at 10 enterprises. They will subject to investigation and punishment by local environmental authorities, Liu said. CFC-11 has been banned in China since 2010. Liu reiterated the country's zero tolerance policy to the illegal use and production of ozone-depleting substances and vowed to enhance monitoring and supervision. In the past nine years, 73 cases involving the illegal use, production and sale of ozone-depleting substances have been uncovered. Fourteen of the cases were related to illegal production of CFC-11 and 84 tons of the substance have been seized and disposed of, according to the ministry. Since China joined the Montreal protocol in 1991, the country's reduction of ozone-depleting substances has accounted for about half the total reduction by developing countries, Liu told an earlier news conference. custom poker braceletsilicone bracelet maker machinecolored silicone braceletslittle rubber band braceletsrainbow rubber bracelets
A nurse explains an eye test to an elderly woman at a hospital in East China's Shandong province. IMAGINECHINA BEIJING - A total of 1.7 million Chinese had enjoyed the direct settlement of trans-provincial medical expenses by the end of January, according to the National Healthcare Security Administration. The direct settlement of trans-provincial medical expenses allows any patient enrolled in the public medical insurance system to be reimbursed for medical and inpatient expenses, no matter where they are treated. Before the national reimbursement network was set up, patients had to return to the locality where they were enrolled to be reimbursed. Around 3.56 million Chinese have registered on the national settlement platform, the administration said. The administration vowed to further implement and improve the direct settlement policy so as to offer more convenience to the migrant population.
