China to cut heavy-metal pollution
2011-02-22 09:39:58 【Print】
China has adopted a plan to reduce emissions of five heavy metals by 15 per cent from 2007 levels over the next five years.
The 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) approved by the State Council is led to those industrial areas with highly discharge, including lead, mercury, chromium, cadmium and arsenic, the media quoted Environment Minister Zhou Shengxian as saying.
The first national pollution census, published in 2010, shows that China discharged 900 tons of the five metals in 2007, due to which a number of high-profile cases involving heavy-metal poisoning have been reported in recent years.
The ministry of Environment listed 138 target zones in 14 provinces and regions, and a total of 4,452 enterprises, including non-ferrous metal mines, smelters, lead-acid battery manufacturers, leather producers and the chemical industry.
The list was made after an intensive nationwide survey of more than 110,000 enterprises, conducted jointly by nine ministries at the end of 2010, according to Zhou.
More than 30 major heavy-metal poisoning incidents have occurred since 2009, posing a grave threat to public health, especially to children, Zhou said.
