bigsale
November 7th, 2007, 11:10 PM
Severely polluted river in North China runs red, makes villagers chronically ill
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v417/n6885/images/417137a-f1.2.jpg
BEIJING: Industrial discharge and household wastewater have polluted a northern Chinese river so severely that the water is dark red in some parts and has caused chronic illnesses among villagers, a government publication reported.
Some of the 50,000 affected villagers living along the Futuo River in Hebei province said sweet potatoes and soy beans grown there were tough and would not soften with cooking, the state-run China Environment News reported. Oil pressed from peanuts harvested in the area smells bad, the report said.
"People who have bought our mung beans and red beans say they were tricked. Those who know the truth dare not buy them," the report quoted an unidentified villager as saying.
China has some of the world's most polluted waterways and cities after two decades of breakneck industrial growth. The government has struggled in recent years to balance environmental concerns with economic growth.
One stretch of the Futuo River, once a place for boating and fishing, was flowing reddish-brown, with a centimeters-deep (inches-deep) white foam floating on some parts.
"The river looked like a white boa constrictor slithering into Anping County," the Oct. 30 report said.
Water drawn from a 120-meter- (394-foot-) deep well in the county was red and had a strong odor. Skin, circulatory and gastrointestinal diseases were common and chronic, the report said.
Last year, tests showed the amount of organic pollutants in the water was 37 times more than is allowed according to national standards.
The report blamed wastewater and industrial discharge from paper, dye, leather and soap factories in five counties upstream for the pollution in Anping.
A woman at the Anping county environmental protection bureau confirmed the report but referred questions to the bureau director, surnamed Jing, who was out of the office and could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Source: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/07/asia/AS-GEN-China-River-Pollution.php
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v417/n6885/images/417137a-f1.2.jpg
BEIJING: Industrial discharge and household wastewater have polluted a northern Chinese river so severely that the water is dark red in some parts and has caused chronic illnesses among villagers, a government publication reported.
Some of the 50,000 affected villagers living along the Futuo River in Hebei province said sweet potatoes and soy beans grown there were tough and would not soften with cooking, the state-run China Environment News reported. Oil pressed from peanuts harvested in the area smells bad, the report said.
"People who have bought our mung beans and red beans say they were tricked. Those who know the truth dare not buy them," the report quoted an unidentified villager as saying.
China has some of the world's most polluted waterways and cities after two decades of breakneck industrial growth. The government has struggled in recent years to balance environmental concerns with economic growth.
One stretch of the Futuo River, once a place for boating and fishing, was flowing reddish-brown, with a centimeters-deep (inches-deep) white foam floating on some parts.
"The river looked like a white boa constrictor slithering into Anping County," the Oct. 30 report said.
Water drawn from a 120-meter- (394-foot-) deep well in the county was red and had a strong odor. Skin, circulatory and gastrointestinal diseases were common and chronic, the report said.
Last year, tests showed the amount of organic pollutants in the water was 37 times more than is allowed according to national standards.
The report blamed wastewater and industrial discharge from paper, dye, leather and soap factories in five counties upstream for the pollution in Anping.
A woman at the Anping county environmental protection bureau confirmed the report but referred questions to the bureau director, surnamed Jing, who was out of the office and could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Source: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/07/asia/AS-GEN-China-River-Pollution.php