Soil Pollution in China

According to BBC, ‘Almost a fifth of China's soil is contaminated, an official study released by the government has shown’. Decades of poor environmental management problems and rapid industrialization has repercussions in the environment. However, even in the capital Beijing, these problems have not been given critical importance.

Photo showing extreme eutrophication problems in Beijing, China. Photo taken on 26 October 2014.

Soil quality standards have been implemented in China, but these standards are outdated (1996) and have been criticized by environmentalists for being irrelevant. There has been attempts to establish new soil quality standards, especially in farmlands, but "almost no major country has set a unified national standard” (Chen, quoted in Caixin, Chinese news). China has to set up and implement her own standards instead of relying on foreign help, as no other developed western countries had such critical levels of pollution in farmland. This has proved to be difficult, given the diversity of soil types in China. Critics of the new soil standards have mentioned the need to match the standards of soils to the soil type present in order for standards to be met.

This poses a serious problem to food security in China. Pollution from the soils contaminates the food produces and accumulates in the food chain. Reports have suspected that the outbreak of cancer deaths is linked to the pollution (Wong 2013). Lead in children’s blood may be due to heavy metal soil pollution as well. These are dire consequences resulting from poor pollution control and land use planning. Many farms in China operate in the vicinity of heavy metal polluting industries, resulting in undesirable effects on human health.

There is a need to spread the awareness of soil pollution. Soil is not dirt, it supports lives.

BBC (2014) Report: One fifth of China's soil contaminated. Online news, 18 April, Available at: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-27076645

Wong, E. (2013) Pollution Rising, Chinese Fear for Soil and Food. Online news. The New York Times, 30 December. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/31/world/asia/good-earth-no-more-soil-pollution-plagues-chinese-countryside.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 

Zheng, C. (2015) Gov't Digs Into Soil Pollution Problem with Proposal for New Standards. Online, Available at: http://english.caixin.com/2015-01-27/100778811.html