Drinking water pipelines contaminated with micro-organisms
Sep-11-2014 By : fcccadmin
Large colonies of micro-organisms – some capable of causing serious disease – have been discovered inside pipelines carrying drinking water to homes in most major Chinese cities. Fortunately, most people habitually boil water before drinking, killing off the organisms and reducing the risk of outbreaks, but many foreign visitors often drink from the tap. Senior government officials and water scientists met last year in Beijing to discuss potable water safety, industry insiders say. One possible solution is to launch a national program to replace pipes with high-quality ones, made either of steel or plastic with special coatings. But such an effort would be costly and some experts question whether the central government would commit to the funding. Water safety has come under scrutiny following a tap water scare in Lanzhou, Gansu province in April. Benzene, which can cause cancer, was discovered in tap water at levels 20 times higher than national limits. An official investigation found that outdated water ducts were to blame and nine officials were disciplined for their role in the incident. Professor Guan Yuntao, associated with a laboratory in Shenzhen under the auspices of Tsinghua University, has been carrying out government-funded research on micro-organism in urban water networks for several decades. The organisms together with organic compounds and heavy metals are the main contributors to unsafe drinking water. In some cities, membranes consisting of a variety of species can form on the inside surface of pipes – much like plaque in human arteries – in a matter of days. The organisms release corrosive waste materials that accelerate the ageing of pipes. Leaks are a common problem and in some cities, up to half the supply is wasted due to problems with the pipe network, the South China Morning Post reported. Replacing Beijing’s more than 9,000 km of pipeline would cost more than CNY90 billion. The capital consumed 3.6 billion cubic meters of water last year.
China’s air quality deteriorating
By : fcccadmin
Air quality in May around the country was slightly worse than it was in the same period last year, with air quality in the Yangtze River Delta deteriorating the most, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP). The number of days in May with good air quality for the 25 cities in the Yangtze River Delta region was only 18 out of the total of 31-five days fewer than in May of last year. Of the six major pollutants that are included in the calculation of air quality, only the readings for carbon monoxide were unchanged compared with the 2013 figures for the region. Concentrations of the five others-PM2.5; PM10; sulfur dioxide; nitrogen dioxide; and ozone-all increased. “Stronger sunshine, warmer temperatures and burning straw in the region are the three major reasons for the area’s apparently deteriorated air quality,” said an official from the Ministry who requested anonymity. Nanjing, Changzhou and Zhenjiang, all in Jiangsu province in the Yangtze River Delta region, were among the top 10 cities with the worst air quality in May. The 13 cities from the Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei cluster had slightly better air quality in May compared with figures from May last year, with three additional days with good air. The situation for the nine cities from the Pearl River Delta region was virtually unchanged.
Supreme People’s Court launches green tribunal
By : fcccadmin
The Supreme People’s Court (SPC) has set up an environment and resources tribunal to hear complex environmental disputes and solve increasingly severe pollution problems. In environmental cases, it can be hard to identify those responsible, damage can have been caused over a long period and both the environment and local residents can be affected. Compared with environment and resources tribunals at the local level, legal experts expect the top court’s tribunal to involve different functions, such as providing guidelines to the local tribunals and hearing individual environmental cases. “The most important tasks for this tribunal should be researching and drafting relevant legal explanations, releasing typical case studies and providing instructions to lower-level tribunals on complicated cases,” Wang Mingyuan, Environmental Law Professor at Tsinghua University, said. The number of local environmental courts has reached more than 130 nationwide since 2007. Once the tribunal under the SPC is set up, more environmental tribunals could be introduced at local level. Out of about 11 million lawsuits heard by courts nationwide every year, only 30,000 were related to the environment.
Drones catch industrial polluters
By : fcccadmin
Aerial drones have uncovered illegal emissions by some of the largest industrial companies in north China. A unit of Hebei Iron & Steel Group, Shanxi Huaze Aluminum & Power; and Inner Mongolia Yihua Chemical were found to have “serious environmental problems”, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said on its website. Data gathered by the drones indicated a quarter of the 254 businesses targeted might be involved in illegal practices. The use of drones to enforce pollution laws followed trial monitoring from November to February in Hebei province. Drones equipped with thermal infrared cameras covered 1,000 square kilometers across the regions of Hebei, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia in the second half of June. The MEP said it would follow up with on-the-ground inspections to ensure companies halted illegal emissions. The use of unmanned aircraft means that companies secretly discharging pollutants at night or at weekends would find no place to hide, Xinhua reported, citing Chen Shanrong, Deputy Director of Environmental Supervision at the Ministry.
Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei coordinate approaches to smog
By : fcccadmin
The governments of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province – known also as Jing-Jin-Ji – agreed on the need to tackle the region’s chronic air pollution, but are using different approaches. “Tackling air pollution is a focus of the plan,” said Laurence Brahm, Chief Adviser on environmental economic policy to China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) under the European Union dialogue program on climate change. After rolling out their own plans to cut emissions, the three local governments also agreed that the solution required a concerted joint approach. A coordinating committee was set up in October to lead the anti-pollution campaign. Co-chaired by a Vice Mayor of Beijing and a Vice Minister of Environmental Protection, the group’s main task is to provide joint forecasts on severe smog across the region and coordinate emergency responses when it occurs. Initial results have been promising, as in the first three months of this year, the average concentration of hazardous PM2.5 dropped by 9.5% in 13 cities in the Jing-Jin-Ji area compared to a year earlier. Levels of the larger PM10 dropped by 8.3%. President Xi Jinping “has tried to overcome the persistent barriers to integration and development of Jing-Jin-Ji by pressuring Beijing to outsource its polluting industries, moving some of its population to nearby satellite cities, and by focusing on clean and high value-added sectors,” Hongyi Lai, Professor of Political Economy at the University of Nottingham’s School of Contemporary Chinese Studies said. Beijing has long blamed nearby provinces for its worsening smog. According to the capital’s environmental bureau, about 25% of air pollution is carried by wind from nearby cities, in particular Baoding, Langfang and Tangshan. Official monitors say the biggest source of Beijing’s air pollution still comes from outside the city, beating local vehicle emissions, coal burning and industrial plants combined. Cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area have been ordered to cut PM2.5 levels by 25% by 2017 from 2012 levels.
- KURT VANDEPUTTE (UMICORE) APPOINTED CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF THE FLANDERS-CHINA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (FCCC)
- Webinar: “Knowing Your Chinese Partner” – May 26, 2021, 10 am – 12 am
- EMA starts rolling review of CoronaVac, WHO approves Sinopharm vaccine for emergency use
- The Global Times warns not to politicize the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI)
- Hainan to become biggest duty-free market in the world