Hundreds of residents of Mawlamyine, the capital of Mon State, have held a protest against the three coal-fired antimony factories in the town, which they say is polluting the air. An article in a local newspaper said that the factories were built in 2014 and are operated by a Myanmar-Chinese joint venture called Myanma San Zaw. They were shut down by the previous government, but re-opened in January with instructions to upgrade their equipment, the report said. However, residents say the problems are continuing. “We have to breathe the polluted air every day. We are going to die from it,” protest organizer U Zaw Naing Oo was quoted as saying, adding that residents had developed headaches and respiratory problems as a result of the pollution. U Min Kyin Win, Mon minister for natural resources and environment conservation, said the state government had told the company to reduce emission levels “as much as they could”. He said that one factory had upgraded its equipment, and that it would soon investigate the other two. “If they cannot follow our guidelines, they have to shut down their factories,” he was quoted as saying.