Soil pollution a big concern in China

Air pollution has tended to dominate environment news in China of late, but there seems to be an underlying problem that is causing just as much concern; soil pollution.

Scientists recently told the Guardian that restoring degraded land in China is likely to prove a bigger long-term problem than air or water pollution, with potentially dire consequences for food production and human health.

Vast swathes of soil have been contaminated by arsenic and heavy metals from mines and factories, severely effecting soil quality and the ability to maintain agricultural practices.

Zhou Jianmin, director of the China Soil Association, estimated that one-tenth of China's farmland was affected. "The country, the government and the public should realise how serious the soil pollution is," he said. "More areas are being affected, the degree of contamination is intensifying and the range of toxins is increasing."

There are other estimates that have speculated soil pollution could be as high as 40 per cent, but any official figures of Chinese land are not likely to be released for some time. This is despite the government spending six years conducting a survey involving 30,000 people. Academics on the project say they have been forbidden from releasing preliminary findings, which leave the rest of the world in the dark about the extent of the problem.

Chen Tongbin of the Chinese Academy of Sciences said soil contamination was at its worst in Yunnan, Sichuan, Hunan, Anhui and Guizhou. He added that there are also parts of Beijing where the soil could be tainted, with the biggest concern being arsenic, which is released during the mining of copper, gold and other minerals.

Mr Tongbin said: "When pollution spills cause massive die-offs of fish, the media usually blames cadmium, but that's wrong. Arsenic is responsible. This is the most dangerous chemical."

Posted by Joseph Hutton