MYSTEEL: Hebei cities issue heavy air pollution alerts, restrict sintering

Several cities in North China's Hebei province, including Handan, Xingtai, Baoding, Tangshan and Cangzhou, issued red or orange heavy air pollution alerts and activated emergency response measures, effective from midday on November 9. Sintering operations are among those facing production restrictions.

According to Mysteel's latest survey of 12 steel mills in Tangshan and Handan, sintering restrictions are expected to range from 20% to 50%. Some mills may shut down one sintering machine, in some cases for a week, while a few are limiting operations by two or three hours per