A vice minister of China's Environmental Protection Ministry said on Thursday it had adopted the first pollutant emissions limit on fertilizer producers nationwide.

Vice Minister Wu Xiaoqing said the emission limit regulation was to prevent too much pollutants from going into rivers and lakes, which might result in grave consequences, endangering people's health and environmental safety.

Fertilizer makers that failed to meet the emission requirements would be asked to upgrade their technologies, change processing methods or stop manufacturing, Wu said on the Chinese government portal www.gov.cn.

One of the world's biggest fertilizer manufacturer, China previously didn't have such compulsory limit for factories until the latest regulation.

Wu said the adoption of the regulation was expected to encourage the fertilizer industry to be more environmentally friendly.

(Xinhua News Agency May 2, 2008)