Images of pollution in China
http://www.google.com/search?q=water+pollution+on+the+yangtze&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=CKYOU7L2OIihog
S554DQAw&ved=0CC0QsAQ&biw=1093&bih=515&surl=1&safe=active
Is the Three Gorges Dam really a clean, renewable energy source?
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~vanti20m/classweb/website/environmentalimpact.html
Critics had long warned of the potential environmental damage that would result from such an extensive
construction project. Some say that hydroelectric power should not be considered as a renewable energy source
because of the irreversible environmental damage that results from these projects.
Greenhouse Gases:
The main environmental benefit of the Three Gorges Dam is the reduction of carbon emissions. However, it has
been found that the dam does cause greenhouse gases to be released into the atmosphere, just not in the form of
industrial pollution. In reservoirs, the breakdown of vegetation and organic material that accumulates actually
releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere! Therefore, while proponents claim that hydroelectric energy is a
“clean” energy source, this is not entirely the case.
Water Pollution:
Vegetation is not the only thing that will accumulate behind the dam. The dam has blocked approximately ten
million tons of plastic bags, bottles, animal corpses, trees, and other detritus that would have otherwise have
flowed out to sea. The Yangtze River is already one of the most polluted rivers in the world. Because of its
proximity to several city centers, the dumping of industrial waste and sewage has always been a serious
problem. More than 265 billion gallons of raw sewage are dumped into the Yangtze annually. In addition, the
reservoir itself flooded 1,600 abandoned factories, mines, dumps, and potential toxic waste sites. Because the
dam prevents any of this material to be washed out to see, water quality in the Yangtze has become much worse
since construction of the dam began.
This project claims to yield social benefits: less air pollution will result in better health and a higher standard of
living. But in reality, millions of residents of the Three Gorges Dam area rely on the Yangtze River as their only
water source. In Fengdu County alone, which lies on a tributary of the Yangtze River, contaminated water
affects the lives of 50,000 people.
Siltation:
Because of reduced water speed behind the dam, an estimated 530 million tons of silt will accumulate behind
the dam. Critics claim that the spillway built into the dam, with a discharge capacity of 116,000 cubic meters, is
still not of sufficient size to prevent siltation from occurring behind the dam. The rising silt levels could
eventually cause sections of the Yangtze to be impassible for shipping, which will impact Chongqing, which
relies on Yangtze River trade for economic vitality. Silt accumulation could even block the sluice gates that are
essential to control water levels behind the dam. In the event of heavy rainfall, rather than working to control
the waters, the dam could actually cause more flooding to occur upstream. In addition, the reduced water speed
will hinder the power generating capacity of the hydroelectric dam and contribute to accumulation of pollutants
and toxins in water, reducing fresh water availability.
Ecosystem Disruption:
The giant hydroelectric dam serves as a physical barrier that disrupts the river ecosystem. In addition to water
pollution, habitat fragmentation will have a detrimental effect on all species within the Three Gorges Dam area.
In an environmental impact assessment, it was determined that there are 47 endangered species in the Three
Gorges Dam area that are supposed to be protected by law. Two of the most popular marine animals in China,
the Chinese River Dolphin and the Chinese Sturgeon are included in the list of species at risk. Ecosystem
disruption poses not only environmental problems, but economic problems as well. The physical barrier
interferes with fish spawning, and in combination with pollution, the dam will have a serious impact on the
fishing economy of the Yangtze River.
Fisherman at the Three Gorges Dam
Deforestation:
Deforestation is another factor that refutes China’s claim that the Three Gorges Dam is a “clean” energy source.
Forests are a major carbon sink and work to negate greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere. However,
the process of deforestation (burning trees) actually emits carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and is
responsible for 20% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.
An immense amount of deforestation occurred for the construction of this project, mainly to provide farmland
in the surrounding areas for those whose homes and farms were flooded by the reservoir. Much of this land is
located on the steep slopes of the gorges, and has been determined as unsuitable land for farming. In addition,
the three gorges dam area is geographically unstable, and deforestation has increased the risk of landslides.
Because of this, residents are being forced to relocate for a second time.
Landslides:
The most current environmental concern with the Three Gorges Dam is the prevalence of landslides. So far
there have been 91 places where the shore has collapsed, with a total of 36 kilometers of land caved in. Some of
these landslides have triggered 50 meter-high waves on the reservoir behind the dam. In Fengjie County alone,
officials have designated more than 800 disaster-prone areas. The potential for geological disaster is threatening
the lives of millions of residents in the area. Large dams increase the possibility for earthquakes because of
increasing geological pressure from rising water. Over 360 million people live within the watershed of the
Yangtze River. In the chance of earthquake or dam collapse, millions of people who live downstream will be
endangered.
Landslides have resulted from a culmination of factors. The Three Gorges area has been always been
geologically unstable before construction on the dam began. When relocation began, many people were moved
to higher land in the valley just above the flood line. Farmers cleared land to plant crops or orange trees, but
deforestation contributed to soil erosion and destabilized many hillsides. Construction crews are now
reinforcing the hillsides with concrete to prevent more landslides. Some residents have received aid from the
government, but most are camping out in tents nearby for lack of money and transportation to be relocated.
Most residents are farmers and fishermen who were forced to leave their villages for higher land and put their
life savings into these new homes that were not built on reliable land.
Government says: "Geological disasters in this area
have been effectively controlled" (Wang Xiaofeng,
deputy director of Three Gorges Project Construction
Committee).
Critics say: "They're not truthfully reflecting a serious
situation. The government is not being responsible to
business or to China" (Chinese writer Dai Qing).
Documents and news reports released by the Chinese
government are consistently more positive than those
from environmental activists and news reporters from
abroad.
Landslides on the Yangtze River
Threat of Pollution in the Yangtze
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/about_freshwater/freshwater
_problems/river_decline/10_rivers_risk/yangtze/yangtze_threats/
Rivaling the impact of the Three Gorges Dam, this basin faces unprecedented pollution as a result
of rapid, large-scale industrial and domestic development, and agricultural runoff. According to
Chinese environmental activist Dai Qing, the Yangtze used to be so clear that you could see a pen
sink to the bottom. Now it has become so dirty that it is not fit for drinking.
Over the last 50 years, there has been a 73% increase in pollution levels from hundreds of cities, in the main stem of the
Yangtze River. The annual discharge of sewage and industrial waste in the river has reached about 25 billion tons, which
is 42% of the country’s total sewage discharge, and 45% of its total industrial discharge. In addition, the CCICED (China
Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development) Task Force on Reducing Non-Point Pollution
from Crop Production concluded that 92% of the nitrogen discharged into the Yangtze is from agriculture.
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Shipping discharges are also to blame for the river’s declining health. As well, the extensive loss of floodplain
areas to agriculture has reduced the basin’s ability to detoxify pollutants.
The major pollutants in the Yangtze main stem are suspended substances, oxidizing organic and inorganic
compounds, and ammonia nitrogen. This has severely reduced drinking water quality and contributed to dramatic
eutrophication.
Shallow, slower water flowing in belts adjacent to the banks near urban areas, and in smaller lakes and tributaries
off the main stem, suffer even worse eutrophication and higher concentrations of the pollutants.
The Yangtze is the 4th largest sediment carrier in the world due to the proportion of arable land in its catchment,
damming and erosion from land conversion.
In the first 60 years of the 20th century, the Yangtze’s sediment yield increased by about 30%, which corresponds
to a related increase in surface erosion area in the basin.
Since the 1960’s, the sediment yield in many areas of the basin has increased, while the suspended sediment flux
has dramatically decreased as it has been trapped in dam reservoirs.
Hydropower developments impound reservoirs that severely affect water quality. After 13 years of construction,
the Three Gorges Dam is now built and will be fully operational in 2008.
The Three Gorges Dam exacerbates water pollution by impounding waters, trapping sediment and increasing
eutrophication. Chongqing Municipality, at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers has become the largest
economic centre in southwest China, but is the largest source of organic water pollution in the Yangtze upstream of the
Three Gorges Dam. Before the Three Gorges Dam, health impacts in the area were already substantial including
intestinal infectious diseases such as hepatitis A, and dysentery incidence rates some 50% higher than the national
average. E-coli bacteria are rampant in water sources, and as high as 15,000 E-coli/L in some parts of the city.
The Three Gorges Dam, about 660 Km downstream, reduces the velocity of the Yangtze River, increases its water depth,
and alters the natural flow regime. In the huge reservoir behind the dam, eutrophication threatens surface water quality,
and near water intakes.
Also, impounded water submerges existing urban water and sanitation infrastructure. In addition, construction for the
Three Gorges Dam never included a budget to clean towns of toxic waste before submerging them.
In Wanxian, Wan County, the Three Gorges Dam submerges part of the sewer system and waste water treatment plant
as well as dumpsites along the river. Garbage heaps, boat effluent, pig and animal waste, factories, hospitals, and mines
containing hazardous and possibly radioactive waste on the bottom of the reservoir are creating serious pollution.
In addition, possible riverbank collapses and landslides as a result of damming will add even more stress to the water
quality of the Yangtze
“In one study, cadmium levels in irrigation waters at Hubei Province in the middle reaches of the Yangtze were 160 times
applicable water standards.
Tests from the hair of affected populations revealed that the levels of cadmium are 5 times higher than background levels
and only marginally lower than the threshold concentration causing itai-itai disease in humans. Local Chinese experts are
now describing pollution in the Yangtze as ‘cancerous’.
Politics 5 Shocking Photos Of China's Not-So-Green Three Gorges Dam
By Hyacinth Mascarenhas July 18, 2013
As the world's largest source of so-called 'clean' hydroelectric power, China's controversial Three Gorges dDam
promised to provide friendly energy to millions.
Built on the Yangtze River in the Hubei Province at a cost of $22.5 billion, the dam was completed in 2006 and
has a combining generating capacity of 22.5 million kilowatts (22,500 megawatts), the equivalent of fifteen15
nuclear reactors, and was a crucial part of China's 'green' initiative to solve its massive energy crisis.
It also required more than 1.4 million people to be relocated from towns, cities, and villages to make way for
the giant dam.
While most Chinese citizens hoped the colossal project would be worth the cost, the disastrous environmental
repeurcussions that have sprung since then prove otherwise.
1. It was dangerous from the get-go
Via: China Navis
The project, which began in 1993, came with dangerous risks that the weight of the reservoir would "alter
China's geology, uproot millions of people, poison water supplies by trapping pollution, and disrupt the Yangtze
watershed."
Creating a reservoir stretching up to 370 miles, the once gorgeous Three Gorgeous region is now plagued with
floating debris and filth.
2. It forms thick and vast garbage patches
Via: China Navis
Thousands of tons of garbage are seasonally washed down into the Yangtze River by torrential rain and
flooding to create vast floating islands of garbage and debris.
In some regions, the crust of rubbish is so thick that one can literally walk on it.
3. It is incredibly overwhelming for cleanup crews
Via: China Navis
The floating garbage has overwhelmed local cleanup crews working in the Yangtze River in Yichange, Central
China's Hubei province.
In August 2010, nearly three tons of waste were collected from the dam every day, but operators still struggled
due to lack of manpower and equipment.
4. It is a very expensive ordeal
Via: China Navis
The China Three Gorges Corporation spends about 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) per year to clear floating
waste.
But multiple nearby cities continue to dump household garbage directly into the river due to municipalities' lack
of trash disposal resources.
5. It is and will continue to be horrible for the ecosystem
By slowing down the normally quick flowing river, the dam has caused silt to settle on the riverbed and damage
existing ecosystems.
In addition to boosting existing problems such as pollution levels and water-borne diseases, the stagnant
reservoir will continue to weaken the riverbank and threatens to displace another 100,000 people due to erosion.
Beijing's mayor announces 'all-out effort' to tackle air pollution
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/chinas-choice/2014/jan/16/china-beijing-air-pollution-hazardous
A number of Chinese cities again hit by record high levels of air pollution as residents are advised to stay indoors
Heavy smog over 20 times the
hazardous level blankets buildings in
Beijing, China, on Thursday.
Photograph: Luo Xiaoguang/ Corbis
There appears to be no end in sight for China's air pollution problems as Beijing issued its first pollution
warning of the New Year. The capital, along with Tianjin and a number of cities in Hebei province are again
enveloped in a shroud of hazardous smog. Some of Beijing's most well-known buildings were barely visible on
Thursday as the municipal government issued a yellow smog alert.
Pollution levels reached more than 20 times the levels considered unhealthy by the World Health Organization
and the city's residents, especially children and the elderly were advised not to go outdoors. Early on Thursday
morning levels of fine particulate pollution known as PM2.5 reached around 500 micrograms per cubic meter,
according to the US Embassy which measures air pollution and publishes the levels on its Twitter feed. It is
thought to be the highest reading since January 2013.
Visibility in some parts of the city dropped to less than 500 meters and four highways out of the city were
closed temporarily. The current high pollution levels began on Wednesday afternoon and it was reported by
Chinese state media that it is expected to last until Friday when winds will increase.
High levels of air pollution have become commonplace in Beijing and other Chinese cities, especially during
winter months when temperatures drop and more coal is burned when heating systems are switched on. This
combined with stagnant air conditions leave many cities covered in a dense layer of smog for days at a time.
There has been much debate in China about what the main cause of the air pollution is. Cars, coal-fired power
stations, factories and even barbeques have been blamed.
On Thursday, Beijing's mayor Wang Anshun announced an "all-out effort" to tackle air pollution. He said that
coal use would be cut by 2.6 million tons and that measures will be taken to stop coal burning in the city and the
surrounding areas.
China's central government is also taking the problem seriously and in September the State Council, China's
cabinet, announced a plan to bring improvements in air quality by 2017. Under the plan many polluting
factories would be closed and China's massive reliance on fossil fuels would be reduced.
Dangerous smog levels make
capital second worst of 40
global cities for
environmental conditions,
says Beijing-based body
Beijing's smog mainly caused by industrial pollution
Updated: 2013-12-30 22:04 (Xinhua/chinadaily.com.cn) http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-12/30/content_17206080.htm
BEIJING -- Industrial pollution is the biggest source of the PM 2.5 problems which cause Beijing's smog, the
Chinese Academy of Sciences said on Monday.
Secondary inorganic aerosols -- sulfates and nitrates -- are responsible for 26 percent of Beijing's PM 2.5,
followed by industrial production and coal burning at 25 percent and 18 percent. Soil dust accounted for 15
percent. Beijing's heavily industrialized neighboring provinces add to pollution in the capital. The report
suggests that energy structure improvement and regional cooperation are needed to combat air pollution. Days
of smog over large parts of China caused traffic jams and school closures earlier this month.
Scientists sampled PM 2.5 in different seasons and analyzed its chemical composition and seasonal variation
from 2009 to 2010. The research findings were published in the influential "Atmospheric Chemistry and
Physics".
Beijing and broad swaths of six Northern provinces have spent the past week blanketed in dense pea-soup
smog that is not expected to abate until Thursday. Beijing’s concentration of PM 2.5 particles – those small
enough to penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream – hit 505 micrograms per cubic meter on
Tuesday night. The World Health Organization recommends a safe level of 25
Tuesday 25 February 2014
theguardian.com
http://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2014/feb/25/air-pollution-in-china-in-pictures
The Jinshanling
Great Walls in
Chengde, north of
Beijing.
Photograph:
ChinaFotoPress/G
etty Images
A woman wears a
mask as she walks
by the National
Stadium on a hazy
day in Beijing.
Photograph: Ng Han
Guan/AP
A satellite view
of northern
China covered
by pollution
haze on 23
January.
MODIS/Aqua/N
ASA
China World
Trade Centre
Tower III (C),
one of the
tallest
buildings in
the city at
330m
(1083ft), in
the heavy
haze in
Beijing.
Photograph:
Jason
Lee/Reuters
A panorama
picture shot with
a smartphone
shows vehicles
travelling on a
highway viaduct
near the Hunhe
river in
Shenyang.
Photograph:
Sheng Li/Reuters
A woman
wearing a
facemask in
Shanghai.
Photograph:
Aly
Song/Reuters
Smoke and facilities of
a steel mill are seen
through a broken
window of an
abandoned residential
building in Fengnan
district of Tangshan,
Hebei province. There
are dozens of
"zombie" mills that
can no longer afford
to operate in and
around Tangshan.
Photograph: Petar
Kujundzic/Reuters
Children with
respiratory
diseases receive
treatment at a
hospital in
Hangzhou.
Photograph: China
Daily/Reuters
Tourists from
mainland
China take
photos in front
of a large
outdoor
banner in
Hong Kong
showing what
the city looks
like on a cleanair day.
Photograph:
Alex
Hofford/EPA
Buildings are seen
through thick haze
at the central
business district in
Guangzhou.
Photograph: Alex
Lee/Reuters
Air pollution now impeding photosynthesis and potentially wreaking havoc on country's food supply, experts
warn Jonathan Kaiman in Beijing
Tuesday 25 February 2014 theguardian.com
A villager in
Xiangnan
shows dirt
and grime on
diseased
vegetables,
caused by
pollution
from a
nearby
chemical
plant.
Photograph:
How Hwee
Young/EPA
A couple pose
for wedding
photos inside
the Jiutian
greenhouse in
Anci district,
Langfang.
Locals have
begun to use
greenhouses as
safe havens
against the
smog.
Photograph:
Wang
Shen/Xinhua
Press/Corbis
A big screen
flashes
commercials
on the
exterior of
an office
building in
Xi'an on 15
December
2012.
Photograph:
Mayi
Wong/EPA
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/25/china-toxic-air-pollution-nuclear-winter-scientists
Chinese scientists have warned that the country's toxic air pollution is now so bad that it resembles a nuclear
winter, slowing photosynthesis in plants – and potentially wreaking havoc on the country's food supply.
Beijing and broad swaths of six Northern provinces have spent the past week blanketed in dense pea-soup smog
that is not expected to abate until Thursday. Beijing's concentration of PM 2.5 particles – those small enough to
penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream – hit 505 micrograms per cubic meter on Tuesday night.
The World Health Organization recommends a safe level of 25.
The worsening air pollution has already exacted a significant economic toll, grounding flights, closing highways
and keeping tourists at home. On Monday 11,200 people visited Beijing's Forbidden City, about a quarter of the
site's average daily draw.
He Dongxian, an associate professor at China Agricultural University's College of Water Resources and Civil
Engineering, said new research suggested that if the smog persists, Chinese agriculture will suffer conditions
"somewhat similar to a nuclear winter".
Buildings in the central business district in
Guangzhou seen through the thick haze.
Photograph: Alex Lee/Reuters
She has demonstrated that air pollutants adhere to greenhouse surfaces, cutting the amount of light inside by about
50% and severely impeding photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert light into life-sustaining chemical
energy.
She tested the hypothesis by growing one group of chili and tomato seeds under artificial lab light, and another
under a suburban Beijing greenhouse. In the lab, the seeds sprouted in 20 days; in the greenhouse, they took
more than two months. "They will be lucky to live at all," He told the South China Morning Post newspaper.
She warned that if smoggy conditions persist, the country's agricultural production could be seriously affected.
"Now almost every farm is caught in a smog panic," she said.
A farmer turns soil to plant crops near
a state-owned lead smelter in Tianying
that has made much of the land
uninhabitable. Photograph: David
Gray/Reuters/Corbis
Early this month the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences claimed in a report that Beijing's pollution made the
city almost "uninhabitable for human beings".
The Chinese government has repeatedly promised to address the problem, but enforcement remains patchy. In
October, Beijing introduced a system of emergency measures if pollution levels remained hazardous for three
days in a row, including closing schools, shutting some factories, and restricting the use of government cars.
People visiting the Olympic Park
amid the thick haze in Beijing.
Photograph: Kim KyungHoon/Reuters
According to China's state newswire Xinhua, 147 industrial companies in Beijing have cut or suspended
production. Yet schools remained open and government cars remained on the road. One person not put off by
the smog was President, who braved the pollution to make an unannounced visit to a trendy neighborhood
popular with tourists. Dressed in a black jacket and trousers – and no facemask – Xi made a brief walk about in
Nanluoguxiang district last Thursday morning. The visit prompted approving coverage in Chinese news reports,
but also mockery on social media sites. "Xi Jinping visits Beijing's Nanluoguxiang amid the smog: breathing
together, sharing the fate," said a Xinhua headline.
Photos and shaky video footage apparently of Xi's visit ricocheted around Chinese social media sites. "Why
isn't he wearing a facemask?" asked one user. "Isn't it bad for his health?"
This week Chinese media reported that a man in Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei province near Beijing, had
sued the local environmental protection bureau for failing to rein in the smog. Li Guixin filed the lawsuit asking
the municipal environment protection bureau "perform its duty to control air pollution according to the law", the
Yanzhao Metropolis Daily reported.
Li is also seeking compensation for the pollution. "Besides the threat to our health, we've also suffered
economic losses, and these losses should be borne by the government and the environmental departments
because the government is the recipient of corporate taxes, it is a beneficiary," he told the Yanzhao Metropolis
Daily. Li's lawyer, Wu Yufen, confirmed the lawsuit but refused to comment because of the sensitivity of the
case. He said: "This is the first ever case of a citizen suing the government regarding the issue of air pollution.
We're waiting for the judicial authority's response."
Diseased vegetables said to be
caused by pollution from a
chemical plant. Photograph: How
Hwee Young/EPA
Li told the newspaper that he had bought an air purifier, masks and a treadmill, but none had helped him to
overcome the pernicious health effects of the smog. He is seeking RMB 10,000 (£1,000) in compensation. "I
want show every citizen that we are real victims of this polluted air, which hurts us both from a health
perspective and economically," he said.
Li Yan, a climate and energy expert at Greenpeace East Asia, said the case could bring exposure to polluted
cities outside of Beijing, putting pressure on provincial officials to prioritise the problem. She said: "People …
who live in Beijing are suffering from the polluted air, but we have the attention of both domestic and
international media. Shijiazhuang's environmental problems are far more serious, and this case could bring
Shijiazhuang the attention it has deserved for a long time."
theguardian.com Copyright (c) Guardian News and Media Limited. 2014 Registered in England and Wales No.
908396 Registered office: PO Box 68164, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1P 2AP
For China's Environment, a Climate Suitable for Change
Nov. 15, 2010 http://abcnews.go.com/WN/chinas-environment-climate-suitable-change/story?id=12112119
By JENNIFER METZ via
ABCNEWS.com
When all eyes turned to Beijing during the 2008 Olympics, the headlines were just as much about the gray skies over the
city as gold medals.
The smog in Beijing and other Chinese cities is a visible manifestation of a larger pollution problem, one that costs the
country between 8 and 12 percent of GDP and thousands of lives each year, analysts estimate. And it's not just affecting
the air -- all of China's resources are threatened by pollution, leaving the nation in a state of environmental crisis, "one the
world has become aware of," Alex Wang, the director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's Environmental Law
Program in China, said.
The global leader in carbon emissions, China faces both the problems of an advanced, industrialized country -- like the air
pollution from increased automobile use -- and those of a developing country -- like soil erosion. One of the greatest
domestic environmental threats is the scarcity of clean, safe drinking water, observers said.
"While a lot of attention is paid to air pollution, really the water problem is the wall that is going to stop everything,"
Jennifer Turner, Director of the China Environment Forum at the Woodrow Wilson Center, said.
Chinese officials themselves estimate "that 50 percent of the water should not be drunk, and between a third and a
quarter of that should not be used for anything," even industrial uses, Turner said. Still, the polluted water cointinues to be
used, contaminating soil, preventing crops from growing, and poisoning the public.
The Ministry of Water Resources in China has said "700 million people drink contaminated water every day, and 100
million people drink water that's so contaminated it makes people sick," Elizabeth Economy, the Council on Foreign
Relations C.V. Starr Senior Fellow and Director for Asia Studies and author of "The River Runs Black: The Environmental
Challenges to China's Future," said.
Jonathan Watts, the Asia Environment correspondent for The Guardian and author of "When A Billion Chinese Jump:
How China Will Save the World -- or Destroy it," said pollution has an extreme impact on health.
"The World Bank estimates that 460,000 people die prematurely every year in China" due to pollution, Watts said. "Air
pollution causes respiratory disease, but the real health risk is water pollution, and what it does to the stomach." Cancer is
another concern; Watt described "cancer villages," or clusters of the disease "around big, dirty industrial plants."
China Response to Pollution Improving, But Not Enough
The health costs of pollution "are really disproportionately borne by the poor people in society," Wang said. "It's really a
justice issue."
Richard Fuller, the president of the Blacksmith Institute, a not-for-profit organization that works in the world's most polluted
places to help local agencies and governments stop pollution problems and clean up contaminated sites, said toxins that
seep into the water supply and the air are "a public health risk of substance."
According to the Blacksmith Institute's annual report, pollution affects over 100 million peoples' lives around the world, a
figure that "puts pollution in the same category of HIV, TB and malaria," Fuller said.