CHINA's air pollution still SERIOUS

China's Air Pollution Still Serious
In 1999, carbon dioxide emission reached 18.57 million tons, air pollution emission reached 11.59 million tons and industrial dust emission reached 11.75 million tons, according to statistics released by the State Environmental Protection Administration of China (SEPA). This shows that although the total volume of China's atmospheric pollution dropped or stayed the same, the absolute volume of atmospheric pollution is still huge.

The data showed that out of 47 major cities along China's eastern coast, not one city's atmospheric pollution met the Level 1 standard and more than 60% of the cities failed to meet the state Level 2 standards. Of the 338 cities monitored, only 112 cities reached the Level 2 standard and 137 exceeded the Level 3 standard, meaning they are severely polluted.

The spread of acid rain is also growing. Acid rain hit 30% of China's total area, making China the third largest heavy acid rain region in the world, behind Europe and North America. Acid rain is a serious problem in central, southern, southwestern and eastern China. Tests of the Ph level of rainwater in 106 cities revealed that the range of ph level in water was between 4.3 and 7.47 and that 43 cities or 40.6% had a Ph level lower than 5.6. A number of cities in the south had an acid rain frequency exceeding 80%.

A spokesman at SEPA said that the major reasons for China's atmospheric pollution problem were: the use of outdated energy resources which rely primarily on coal and a sharp increase in car pollution and industrial pollution.