RESIDENTS from several estates in Longgang District are complaining that factories in two industrial zones have been discharging a sulfur-smelling gas at night for several months, the Shenzhen Evening News reported yesterday.

    Over 100 residents from several estates in Longgang District complained that the Hengtong and Shenlong industrial zones near the entrance of Shuiguan Expressway have been discharging the unidentified gas at night for months.

    A resident surnamed Wang living in Lihu Garden said the factories usually start discharging gas at around 10 at night and stop at 4 in the morning.

    About 4,000 people live in Lihu Garden, several hundred meters away from the industrial zones.

    “The air coming from the air conditioner smelled like sulfur when I was nursing my baby around midnight Oct. 29. It made my throat feel dry and tight,” Wang said.

    Another resident, surnamed Qin and also lives in the same estate, said he had to keep his windows closed at night because of the smell.

    “They discharge the gas three to five days per month in the daytime, but they discharge it at night over 20 days each month,” Qin said, adding that sometimes he can smell the gas even while wearing a mask.

    A resident, surnamed Liu, said she always uses an air filter when she sleeps at night, adding that the indicator light on the air filter is always red, meaning the air quality is poor.

    About 140 residents joined a WeChat group to discuss the emissions. The person who started the group surnamed Li has lived in a nearby estate for three years. He said he realized something was wrong after he was woken by strange smells several times at night beginning last year.

    “People didn’t consider it a pollution problem at the beginning. Some thought it was caused by burning straw. I got no reply after I complained to the authorities,” Li said.

    “We opened a WeChat group in July and a QQ chat group in September, calling on other residents to pay attention to the pollution and try to find the source,” Li said, adding that they have confirmed the smoke comes from several industrial zones and a poultry market in the area.

    On the evening of Nov. 1, Li climbed the mountain behind Shenlong Industrial Zone and saw smoke coming from several chimneys and smelled sulfur.

    “There are tens of thousands of people living in the nearby area, and we all hope the air pollution will end as soon as possible,” Li said.

    The website of the environmental protection and water affairs bureau in Longgang District shows that residents in the area have made 34 complaints on the website about the air problem since June.

    The bureau said Nov. 5 that it found two companies discharging exhaust outside of legal limits in previous inspections and it fined the companies 60,000 yuan (US$9,405). (Zhang Yang)