China shuts 1,000 factories near polluted lake
More than 1,000 polluting factories have been closed down near China's third largest freshwater lake after it was choked by an algae bloom this year, media reported Thursday.
By Agencies |
BEIJING: More than 1,000 polluting factories have been closed down near China's third largest freshwater lake after it was choked by an algae bloom this year, media reported Thursday.
More than two million people in Wuxi city in the eastern province of Jiangsu were left without clean tap water in early June because of the algae bloom that spread across Taihu lake, once renowned for its scenic beauty.
Since then, more than 1,000 petrochemical plants in the cities of Wuxi, Suzhou and Changzhou have closed and 1,600 more factories are scheduled to be shut over the next two years, the Beijing Times reported.
Jiangsu provincial authorities also plan to close or relocate more than 2,800 small chemical factories, according to the paper.
The closures are part of a major clean-up effort that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao demanded following the June crisis, which highlighted the nationwide problem of China's degraded water systems.
All plants still operating in the area are required to meet new water emission standards by the end of June 2008, authorities said earlier.
More than 70 per cent of China's waterways and 90 percent of its underground water is contaminated by pollution, according to government figures.
More than two million people in Wuxi city in the eastern province of Jiangsu were left without clean tap water in early June because of the algae bloom that spread across Taihu lake, once renowned for its scenic beauty.
Since then, more than 1,000 petrochemical plants in the cities of Wuxi, Suzhou and Changzhou have closed and 1,600 more factories are scheduled to be shut over the next two years, the Beijing Times reported.
Jiangsu provincial authorities also plan to close or relocate more than 2,800 small chemical factories, according to the paper.
The closures are part of a major clean-up effort that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao demanded following the June crisis, which highlighted the nationwide problem of China's degraded water systems.
All plants still operating in the area are required to meet new water emission standards by the end of June 2008, authorities said earlier.
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More than 70 per cent of China's waterways and 90 percent of its underground water is contaminated by pollution, according to government figures.
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