BAO’AN residents have expressed curiosity about the pineapple-shaped devices installed on lampposts across the district. The district environmental protection and water resources bureau said that these new devices are tasked with monitoring air pollution and helping authorities more efficiently crack down on polluting enterprises.

The bureau said 190 such devices have been installed since May, covering all communities and major industrial areas. An air pollution information app has also been developed to connect the devices.

The “pineapples” are tasked with detecting levels of PM2.5, PM10, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and carbon monoxide.

Last month, using the app, bureau employees found PM10 had surged to 75 micrograms per cubic meter at the monitoring point near Yu’an 2nd Road and Qianjin 1st Road. Fifteen minutes later, inspectors found workers at an urban renewal project near the monitoring point had failed to spray adequate amounts of mist to reduce dust. The law enforcement officers ordered the work to be suspended, and one hour later the PM10 reading was at 31 micrograms per cubic meter, a normal level.

The bureau said it will use the app to monitor the air quality in the district and send abnormal readings from the app to other departments, subdistrict offices, and communities in order to crack down on pollution more quickly.  (SD News)