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January 7, 2017

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Home » Metro » Environment

Making soil pollution a thing of the past

THE city government yesterday released an action plan to curb soil pollution and improve contaminated land.

The plan aims to have 95 percent of the city’s contaminated farmland and 95 percent of other polluted areas “safe to use” by 2020. The percentage is scheduled to be lifted to 98 percent by 2030.

The plan covers industrial and municipal pollution, farmland and land used by key industries, such as petro-chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing. Though Shanghai has started to reduce soil pollution earlier than most places in China, the government says endeavors do not yet match the efforts being made to tackle air and water pollution.

According to earlier surveys, the city’s soil pollution features organic (carbon-based) contamination, particularly in areas such as industrial land and transport arteries.

The action plan said more detailed soil surveys would be conducted by 2018 to determine the city’s comprehensive soil contamination situation, especially the extent of contaminated farmland — and its impact on agricultural products.

A digital management platform to supervise soil environment would also be set up.

The authority would also tighten supervision on industrial pollution sources and hazardous waste processing.

By 2020, fertilizer usage in Shanghai would be cut by 20 percent from 2015, and the numbers of pigs in the city would be limited to under 2 million, the plan said. Measures to boost soil quality would include converting cultivated land into forest.

Nanda area in Baoshan District and Taopu area in Putuo District are at the forefront of the campaign to curb soil contamination.




 

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