Re: Report: One fifth of China's soil contaminated
Source:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-27076645
18 April 2014 Last updated at 06:06 ET
Report: One fifth of China's soil contaminated
Almost a fifth of China's soil is contaminated, an official study released by the government has shown.
Conducted between 2005-2013, it found that 16.1% of China's soil and 19.4% of its arable land showed contamination.
The report, by the Environmental Protection Ministry, named cadmium, nickel and arsenic as top pollutants.
There is growing concern, both from the government and the public, that China's rapid industrialisation is causing irreparable damage to its environment.
The study took samples across an area of 6.3 million square kilometres, two-thirds of China's land area.
"The survey showed that it is hard to be optimistic about the state of soil nationwide," the ministry said in a
statement on its website...
from above gov link:
Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Land and soil pollution survey released nationwide bulletin
Environmental Protection Department officials informed the media today, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the National Land and Resources issued a communique soil pollution survey.
The official said, according to the decision of the State Council, from April 2005 to December 2013, the Environmental Protection Ministry of Land and Resources jointly conducted the first national survey of soil pollution. Scope of the investigation is land territory, the survey points other than Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions and Taiwan Province to cover all arable land, part of the woodland, grassland, unused land and construction land, the actual survey an area of about 6.3 million square kilometers. Survey uniform methods, standards, basic grasp of the overall situation of the country's soil environment.
Survey results show that the overall national soil environment is not optimistic, heavy soil pollution in some areas, cultivated soil environmental quality worrying, industrial and mining waste soil environmental issues outstanding.
The point of the total soil exceeding the rate of 16.1%, of which a slight, mild, moderate and severe pollution point ratio was 11.2%, 2.3%, 1.5% and 1.1%.
From land-use types,
farmland, woodland, grassland soils point exceeded rates were
19.4%, 10.0%, 10.4%. From pollution types, with no model-based, there are models, followed by a smaller proportion of complex pollution, inorganic contaminants exceeding the median point of the point total exceeded 82.8%. Situation from excessive pollutants, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, copper, lead, chromium, zinc, nickel eight kinds of inorganic contaminants point exceeding rates were 7.0%, 1.6%, 2.7%, 2.1%, 1.5%, 1.1% , 0.9%, 4.8%; BHC, DDT, polycyclic aromatic organic pollutants in point 3 exceeded the rate of 0.5%, 1.9%, 1.4%, respectively.
The official pointed out that the quality of the soil environment by the superposition of multiple factors, soil pollution in the country's economic development and long-term cumulative process of social formation. Mining and industrial, agricultural production and other human activities and natural high background is mainly caused by soil contamination or excessive.
The official said, the State Council pollution of soil and attaches great importance to environmental protection, central leaders have made important instructions. All localities and departments of environmental protection and pollution control work the soil has been actively explore and practice. For a long time, due to the extensive mode of economic development, industrial structure and layout is unreasonable, pollutant emissions remain high, serious soil pollution in some areas, the quality and safety of agricultural products pose a serious threat to human health. Faced with the grim situation in the soil environment, the state is or will be a series of measures to strengthen environmental protection and soil pollution, soil pollution and resolutely to war. First, the preparation of soil pollution prevention action plan. According to the State Council to deploy, the Environmental Protection Department is working with the departments concerned to the preparation of soil pollution prevention action plan, the general idea is: to protect the safety of agricultural products and healthy living environment as a starting point, in order to protect the environment and improve soil quality as the core, reform and innovation the driving force, the legal system is based on adherence to strictly control the source, the implementation of classification management, strengthening scientific and technological support, to play the role of the market to guide public participation. The second is to accelerate the process of soil environmental protection legislation. Second session of the NPC Standing Committee has been included in the legislative plan of the first soil environmental protection projects. Department of Environmental Protection in conjunction with relevant departments to set up a drafting soil environmental regulations leadership team, working groups and expert groups accordingly. After nearly two years of effort, the draft law has been initially formed. Third, further detailed investigation of soil pollution work. In this investigation, based on soil pollution, the Environmental Protection Department will organize with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Land Resources, Ministry of Agriculture, Health and Family Planning Commission and other departments to carry out detailed investigation of soil pollution, and further to find out the soil environmental quality. Has formed the overall implementation plan. Fourth, the implementation of soil remediation projects. Countries will be carried out in a typical regional organizations pilot demonstration soil pollution, soil pollution control and gradually establish remediation technology system, a plan to advance step by step repair soil pollution. Fifth, strengthen the soil environmental regulation. Countries will strengthen the soil environment of regulatory functions, the establishment of soil pollution liability lifelong accountability mechanisms; strengthen involving heavy metals companies wastewater, waste gas, waste and other treatment supervision and inspection, strict management and control of agricultural inputs in agricultural production processes indiscriminate use, abuse, regulate hazardous waste The collection, storage, transfer, transportation and disposal activities to avoid creating new soil pollution.
