China imposes restrictions on metallurgy in preparation for the Winter Olympics

China's leading steel regional hub, Tangshan, will join the campaign to bring blue skies ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics by limiting production and taking other measures to reduce pollution.

Tangshan will expand existing steel restrictions by March 13 next year to ensure good air quality for games. Air pollution in Tangshan is expected to decrease by at least 40% year on year in the days leading up to and during the Games, which begin on February 4th.

The city's steel mills provide 8% of global production and are regularly targeted when the authorities in the neighboring capital need clean air for high-profile events. When Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics, authorities closed a number of factories in industrial regions near the capital. The operation, dubbed "Olympic Blue", was crowned with success.

Steel mills in Tangshan will have to maintain production restrictions this year, but will expire on December 31, Mysteel reported. Other measures to improve air quality include restricting truck traffic and cement production, and shifting more vehicles to clean fuels.

The pre-Olympic stint comes amid a nationwide campaign to cut steel production after production broke records in the first half of the year.

The document cited by Mysteel sets specific targets for air pollution during the Games. It states that hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in Tangshan - toxic, ultrafine dust - should not exceed 75 micrograms per cubic meter during the opening or closing ceremonies, and the daily average should not exceed that level during the Winter Olympics.