廣東水污染嚴重, 政府刻意隱瞞- Wikileaks

廣東水污染嚴重, 政府刻意隱瞞- Wikileaks
http://news.now.com/home/international/player?newsId=11117

QUOTE from wikileaks:

SUBJECT: Black Pearl - The Threat of Water Pollution to Guangdong's
Future

(U) This document is sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly. Not for release outside U.S. government channels. Not for internet publication.

Ref: A) Guangzhou 712, B) Guangzhou 212

¶1. (SBU) Summary: The following is neither an overstatement nor is
it hyperbole. It is a fact.

The contaminated waters of the Pearl River and other water sources in Guangdong are as serious a threat to the region's health and economic sustainability as the decline in exports, the closure of small and medium enterprises and the
increasing utilization of land for nonproductive reasons.


According to one study, more than ten percent of drinking water sources in the
province failed to meet Chinese standards -- 24 percent in Guangzhou alone; local experts say these figures likely underestimate the severity of the problem. Only about 50 percent of Guangzhou's sewage is treated.


Government efforts to ensure safe drinking water and minimize health related incidents fall well short as they do not adequately address elevated levels of contamination for organic compounds, nitrogen, pesticide residues, heavy metals and other toxic substances.


Water must be piped long distances because closer resources are too contaminated, oft-times the result of waste discharge being close to drinking water plants.


Smaller rivers and Pearl River tributaries are especially vulnerable and groundwater
and river sediment are highly contaminated. While it is hard to assess the impact of water pollution on human health here,

it is clear that local residents in some heavily polluted areas are already displaying the effects including cancers, bone diseases and other disorders stemming from exposure to high levels of arsenic, cadmium and other toxins.


Serious steps are needed to address these looming health issues, but no comprehensive strategy has yet been devised. End summary.


An Abundant Resource, Heavily Abused
------------------------------------

¶2. (U) Water is plentiful in the Pearl River Delta (PRD). The delta is formed by the confluence of three major rivers which run into the South China Sea, with an average annual water flow of about 336.2 billion cubic meters.

The area is also rich in rainfall, with annual precipitation of 1600-2200 millimeters.

. . .

Black Pearl - The Threat of Water Pollution to Guangdong
http://wikileaks.org/cable/2009/01/09GUANGZHOU10.html


Guangdong Moving to Expand Nuclear Power
http://wikileaks.org/cable/2009/02/09GUANGZHOU80.html

Air Pollution in South China: Academics and Research
http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/09/06GUANGZHOU30248.html