The Chinese capital's environmental watchdog handed down a fine of 300,000 yuan ($48,000) to a utility boiler manufacturing company in the city on Monday, the highest penalty since the Beijing Air Pollution Prevention Regulation took effect on March 1.

The company, Babcock & Wilcox Beijing Company, was fined for repeatedly painting utility boilers in the open air without any protective measures for reducing air pollution, said the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau.

The bureau said the fines, together with the public disclosures, have raised companies' awareness of polluting and the importance of abiding by the rules.