An official in Guangxi told Xinhua that a good number of nonferrous metal companies don't dispose of the waste they produce, instead leaving it to pile up and cause potential pollution.
"Meanwhile, many officials do not know much about standards, equipment or waste treatment methods in the nonferrous metal industry, making supervision quite inefficient," said the official, on condition of anonymity.
BACK TO HEAVEN ON EARTH
Even though the situation is bad, at least one locality is seeing good results in treating contaminated soil.
One of the country's most important areas with nonferrous metals, Guangxi's Huanjiang County, was once home to heavily polluted soil.
"In 2001, a huge flood crushed a mining company on the upper reaches of the local river, causing arsenic, lead and zinc to spill into crop fields near the river," said Qin Haifang, a farmer in Huanjiang. For years afterward, crops there contained excessive heavy metals.
Realizing the severe pollution, the local government organized experts to help restore soil in Huanjiang in 2005.
"Experts from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences came and spread lime powder and grew the arsenic-accumulating plant Pteris Vittala, which largely reduced heavy metal levels in the crops," said Qin Haifang.
In 2010, a national-level restoration project was launched to help ease Huanjiang's troubles, with the central government allocating 24.5 million yuan in funds to the locality.
"We received free heavy metal accumulating plants such as Pteris Vittala, Sedum alfredii and mulberry, which really helped improve the soil quality," Qin said.
So far, more than 85 hectares of crop fields have been restored to normal in the country's biggest soil restoration project, according to local environmental protection authorities.
Meanwhile, authorities nationwide are moving heaven and earth to clean up the country's polluted soil.
In late April, Chen Jining, minister of environmental protection, said China would launch investigations into soil pollution, adding that efforts would be made to treat pollution and restore land to its normal state.
About 9.1 billion yuan will be allocated this year to treat soil pollution, up 145.6 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Finance.
Across China, authorities have launched similar projects for land pollution treatment and restoration in metal-rich areas in 10 provinces.
Meanwhile, a new regulation targeting soil pollution will be published this year, according to Chen Jining.
"Soil pollution treatment will be a long battle," said Li Fasheng, a researcher with the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences.
