Almost 40 percent of pollution control projects in the Songhua
River basin listed in a State Council plan have been completed or
are well underway, according to an environmental watchdog
official.
"Eighty-four out of 222 pollution control projects approved by
the State Council in August last year in a five-year plan for
Songhua River pollution control, have been finished or are in the
middle of construction," said the State Environmental Protection
Administration (SEPA) official.
A combined investment of about 13.4 billion yuan (US$1.76
billion) is needed for the 222 projects, including treating
industrial pollution sources and urban sewage and building
recycling equipment, he said.
Three northeastern provinces shut down 42 factories failing in
pollution control in the Songhua River valley in the first six
months, reducing the pollutant discharges by about 6,327 tons in
terms of the chemical oxygen demand, the official said.
Environmental authorities of China and Russia took samples from
the Heilongjiang, Wusuli, Ergune and Suifen rivers and Xingkai Lake
across the border for tests from June 10 to 25 and Aug. 14 to 25
under the first joint operation since the two countries signed the
Joint Monitoring Plan on Border Rivers in 2006.
They would analyze the samples separately before exchanging data
and comparing results at the end of next month, SEPA sources
said.
Experts will examine the chemical oxygen demand, contents of
heavy metals, benzene, and pesticides, riverbed mud, and other
indices to determine water quality. Both sides are required to
operate the testing program for five years from 2007.
Northeastern China's Heilongjiang Province and Russia's
Khabarovsk have been conducting border river monitoring since 2002
in an effort to ensure water quality and improve environmental
protection.
An accident at a chemical plant in northeastern China sent
nitrobenzene and other chemicals into the Songhua River, the
largest tributary of the Heilongjiang, in 2005.
The contamination forced Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang
Province, to temporarily stop water supplies to 3.8 million
people.
(Xinhua News Agency September 1, 2007)