A "national environment and health act" will be released next
Wednesday by 18 ministries, a notice on the website of the Ministry
of Health (MOH) said yesterday.
The act, which will remain in place until 2015, is aimed at
alleviating the harm to public health caused by environmental
pollution, the website said.
It has been backed by the MOH, the State Environmental
Protection Administration, the National Development and Reform
Commission, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science
and Technology.
China News Service, which published information about the act
yesterday, said it will be carried out in two phases: In the first
phase, ending in 2010, a national evaluation system will be set up
to measure the harm caused by pollution, and surveys on the extent
of environmental pollution and public health will be carried
out.
In the second phase, monitoring networks will be set up to track
changes in the amount of pollution released, and various government
bodies will work together in responding to environmental
crises.
The monitoring networks will cover water for drinking and
irrigation, the deterioration of the soil, extreme weather, public
hygiene and the safekeeping of biological and microbiological
agents in laboratories and animal farms.
In cases of emergency, public warnings will be issued
immediately and government bodies will assemble teams to minimize
damages.
Information platforms will be set up to coordinate actions and
share information across government agencies. Information will also
be publicized through the media as quickly as possible.
Surveys on the sources of pollution and about its impact on the
public health will be carried out soon.
Research projects aimed at pinpointing the effects of climate
change on the human body and the preventive power of traditional
Chinese medicine are in the works.
(China Daily November 14, 2007)
