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Scientist Warns Of Environmental And Health Risks From Three Gorges
Beijing (AFP) Apr 27, 2006 Rising pollution levels in China's Three Gorges reservoir are increasing the risk of an ecological and public health disaster, a leading national scientist said in comments published Thursday. "After water started to accumulate in the reservoir, the flow rate of the (Yangtze) river dropped, resulting in a decreased ability of the river to clean itself," the China Business Times quoted environmental expert Shu Weiqun as saying. "Because of this, the reservoir area, with its 31 million people, has become a high ecological and public health risk area." Shu, a professor at the environment and sanitation research institute of the People's Liberation Army's Third Medical Hospital, was last week awarded a national environmental protection award for his research into the water quality of the Three Gorges reservoir. The award reflects the central government's determination to ensure the water remains clean in the 600-kilometer-long (372-mile) reservoir behind the controversial Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydroelectric project, the paper said. The award has also given Shu a platform to air his concerns over pollution levels in the reservoir. Since water began accumulating in the reservoir in 2003, the government has invested more than four billion yuan (500 million dollars) for at least one water treatment plant in every county surrounding the body of water, the paper said. "But at present only 20 percent of the polluted water (flowing into the reservoir) is being treated," Shu said. Shu also said that state water quality standards were far from adequate, as they only required the monitoring of 35 items, including only four known organic pollutants. The professor said he had discovered 101 organic pollutants in the reservoir. Shu urged increased spending on pollution controls and water treatment plants, higher water quality standards for the reservoir and a pollution control law to cover the entire Yangtze river basin, it said. China is expected to announce the completion of the construction phase of the dam in the coming weeks, although the last set of power generators will not go on line for two more years.
Source: Agence France-Presse Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links - Water News - Science, Technology and Politics
Scientists Penetrate Fossil Magma Chamber Beneath Intact Ocean Crust
Pacific Ocean, approx 800 km west of Costa Rica (SPX) Apr 21, 2006An international team of scientists aboard the research drilling ship JOIDES Resolution has - for the first time - recovered black rocks known as gabbros from intact ocean crust. Supported by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP), the scientists drilled through the volcanic rock that forms the Earth's crust to reach a fossil magma chamber lying 1.4 kilometers beneath the seafloor. |
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