China is speeding up its first survey on soil pollution, which
is costing the country more than 20 billion yuan (US$2.6 billion) a
year, according to the State Environmental Protection
Administration (SEPA) recently.
However, the administration did not provide any details of the
ways in which they might complete the survey more quickly.
The investigation focuses on farmland protection areas, main
grain-producing areas, the Yangtze Delta Region, the Pearl River
Delta Region, and areas around Bohai Bay.
China launched two nationwide investigations into its soil
quality respectively in the 1950s and 1970s, both investigating the
fertility of the soil rather than soil pollution.
The central government is to allocate 1 billion yuan (US$129
million) for the national survey, which began last July and will be
concluded in 2008.
After the survey, plans will be drafted for soil pollution
prevention and pilot projects on rehabilitating and treating the
soil will be carried out. A soil quality supervision and management
system will also be built.
SEPA director Zhou Shengxian has said that China faces serious
soil pollution that jeopardizes the ecology, food safety, people's
health and the sustainable development of agriculture.
It is estimated that 12 million tons of grain are polluted each
year by heavy metals that have found their way into soil. Direct
economic losses exceed 20 billion yuan, according to SEPA
figures.
(Xinhua News Agency February 22, 2007)
