I. Background

The Scope and Impact of Pollution in China

Since the late 1970s, China has achieved tremendous economic growth. With the second largest economy in the world, China is widely recognized as an economic superpower.[4] In the past 15 years, the gross domestic product has increased ten-fold.[5] China contributed one-third of global economic growth in 2004 and held 14 percent of the world economy on purchasing parity basis in 2005, second to the United States.[6] The rapid economic growth has lifted millions out of poverty: according to the World Bank, the average income was US$293 in 1985 and $2,025 in 2006.[7]

However, this unprecedented growth has come at a high environmental cost. Rapid development has triggered widespread industrial pollution.[8]China has earned the notorious distinction of having 20 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities.[9] Water, air, and soil pollution in China are dangerously widespread and are garnering international attention as a public health crisis both domestically and abroad.[10]

Contaminated drinking water kills 95,600 people per year in China.[11] Approximately one-third of low-income households depend on surface water as the primary drinking source. Yet even after treatment, only half of China’s 200 major rivers and less than a quarter of its major lakes and reservoirs are considered suitable for human consumption.[12] Widespread pollution exacerbates water scarcity by compelling communities and factories to rely on contaminated water sources.[13] As a result, water scarcity quickly becomes a public health problem. For instance, water scarcity in northern China forced farmers to irrigate approximately 40,000 kilometers with waste water; consequently, crops and soil were contaminated with heavy metal pollutants such as lead and mercury.[14] Water scarcity additionally contributes to the spread of diseases associated with microbial and industrial pollutants. Over 300 million people in China rely on hazardous water sources.[15]

Industrial run off and disasters profoundly impact the safety of the water supply since the release of toxic chemicals can devastate an entire city; for example, Harbin, China’s tenth largest city, was left with no water for its four million residents after a chemical plant explosion in 2005. The city’s water system was shut down for four days as the accident led to the release of 100,000 kg of benzene, aniline, and other heavy metals into the water system. [16]

In addition to severe water pollution, China has the world’s highest levels of air pollution[17] and is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world.[18] The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that an estimated 656,000 Chinese citizens die of diseases triggered by indoor and outdoor air pollution per year,[19] and the level of airborne particulate matter, which includes ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and dust, in Chinese cities consistently violates WHO air quality guidelines.[20] In 2004, the State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) conducted a routine monitoring of air quality in 360 cities, and results showed that 70 percent of urban areas failed to meet national ambient air quality standards.[21]

Adverse health effects from air pollution include acute lower respiratory infections, lung cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Compounded by the high prevalence of smoking in China, [22] COPD alone is responsible for one to three million deaths in China every year. [23] Outdoor air pollution is caused by a variety of sources, including motor vehicle emissions, chemical combustion from industrial use, burning of agricultural waste and solid fuels, and use of coal as a primary energy source. Because coal provides 70 percent of China’s electricity, China has become one of the world’s largest emitters of sulphur dioxide, which in turn has increased occurrences of acid rain. [24] The use of coal in China accounts for 25 percent of mercury and 12 percent of carbon dioxide emissions globally. [25]

Heavy metal pollution is also widespread within China. Heavy metals are discharged as waste from various industries such as mining, chemical refineries, textile printing and dyeing, leather tanning, pesticides, animal feed manufacturing, electroplates, battery producers, and smelters, which are electrolytic plants that separate chemical concentrates into a pure form. Heavy metals commonly discharged through air or water pollution include arsenic, mercury, zinc, copper, nickel, chromium, manganese, cadmium, and lead. These elements are all found naturally in the environment. Trace amounts of arsenic, mercury, zinc, copper, manganese, chromium, and nickel in the human body are tolerable; however, overexposure results in adverse health effects.

Although these substances are naturally found within the environment, they may become extremely toxic to the ecosystem in high concentrations. Copper amounts above 0.0002 mg/L become toxic for fish in water and adversely affect other aquatic organisms. Copper toxicity also prevents the development of plants, negatively impacting the process of nutrient absorption and root growth. Chromium inhibits the water self-purification process and kills beneficial microorganisms in water. In animals, chromium may induce birth defects, weaken immune systems, and cause tumors. The accumulation of heavy metals in the soil has also been known to adversely affect plant growth. If heavy metals are prevalent in soil, then plants may absorb the chemicals and become contaminated as well, causing food safety issues.

The dangers of widespread pollution have been acknowledged at the highest levels of the Chinese government. Premier Wen Jiaobao summarized the grim challenges facing China: as of 2006, one-third of China was affected by acid rain, 90 percent of natural grasslands have deteriorated, and 1.74 million square kilometers had become desertified.[26] Despite a rising GDP, Cheng Siwei, former vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, conceded in 2010 that the country has “paid heavy costs for all the environmental pollution, wasted resources and ecological deterioration.”[27]

In an effort to address environmental degradation, the Chinese government has committed to what it calls “sustainably developed GDP” [28] and has implemented plans to slow the growth of greenhouse gases. [29] In expanding its environmental agenda, the government has rigorously developed and encouraged the use of green technologies. [30] Yet despite the pledge to adopt greener policies and technologies, China still faces an enormous task in protecting health and cleaning up pollution sites while employing sustainable practices and technologies.

The Chinese government has also fined or shut down companies that operate illegally. According to government statistics, a total of 2,183 heavy metal companies were punished for illegal operations in 2009,[31] and an additional 231 companies were shut down. In November 2010, the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) issued a list of enterprises which violated national safety standards through unsafe heavy metal storage and disposal procedures, and the list typifies the kinds of violations which commonly occur among heavy-metal-related enterprises. Among these companies, illegal operations generally involved improper management and storage of hazardous waste, such as lead-containing slag, failure to implement preventative measures for the seepage of arsenic-containing residue into the environment, and failure to adhere to environmental impact assessments, such as the improper disposal of lead-containing sludge through rainwater channels.[32] In rare instances, owners of hazardous factories may face criminal charges.[33] However, liability for contaminated industrial sites is frequently disputed, with neither current nor former owners consistently held responsible. Even when hazardous facilities are shut down in response to environmental concerns, they may be re-opened with no changes in operation procedures.[34]

In addition to large industrial facilities, small-scale heavy metal enterprises can pose a serious threat to the eco-system and public health.[35] The township and village enterprise (TVE) sector, comprised of small-scale, private factories, emits 60 percent of China’s air and water pollution and employs more than 130 million rural workers.[36] The TVE sector encompasses over 20 million small-scale factories scattered throughout the Chinese countryside, making these enterprises difficult to monitor and regulate.[37] The TVE sector is less likely to use environmental mitigation technologies since they often lack access to significant capital. Although national regulations have successfully closed some of the worst environmental offenders, the TVE sector remains a major threat to the environment and public health.[38]

A study by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture surveyed the TVE sector in 30 sample counties in 15 provinces.[39] Industries surveyed included textiles, chemical production, metal processing, construction material production, plastics manufacturing, coal mining, and electronic equipment production. It found that there was at least one occupational hazard to worker safety in 83 percent of the workplaces surveyed. Within the chemical industry, the study noted that 1,473 out of 1,553 enterprises had occupational risks, and in the electronic communication equipment manufacturing industry 414 out of 548 enterprises were also found to have occupational hazards.[40] The study concluded that approximately one-third of all employees were exposed to those hazards.[41]

In response to increasing cases of heavy metal pollution, the Ministry of Environmental Protection[42] in August 2009 approved a draft of the Implementation Plan for the Comprehensive Handling of Heavy Metal Pollution, which set out to strengthen the regulatory system for heavy metal pollutants, bolster industrial structure reform, and establish an inspection and supervision system for the prevention of pollution.[43] The MEP also announced a three-month nationwide campaign that would investigate enterprises which handle significant amounts of heavy metals.[44] Locally, some municipal governments have been reported to offer free lead blood tests for children under 14 in response to the outcry over heavy metal pollution cases.[45]

Lead Poisoning in China

Elevated lead levels damage the brain, kidneys, and blood cells, which may result in anemia, deficits in IQ, high blood pressure, coma, or death.[46] However, the range of manifestations of lead poisoning may also mean that it can go unrecognized or confused with other disorders.[47] While the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines lead poisoning as any blood lead concentrations over 10 micrograms per deciliter, the World Health Organization considers lead in the blood unsafe at any level.[48] Researchers have suggested that there is no blood lead level in which there are not cognitive effects, and each microgram per deciliter of blood lead concentration can be associated with a reduction in IQ of 0.25 points.[49]

Childhood lead poisoning is among the most common pediatric health problems in China.[50]Pregnant women and children are particularly vulnerable to lead poisoning. In pregnant women, lead poisoning can cause premature birth, low birth weight, or damage the fetus.[51] Children are especially at risk for lead poisoning because they tend to absorb up to 50 percent of lead they are exposed to, compared to 10-15 percent for adults.[52] Lead affects the development of a child’s nervous and digestive system, and virtually every organ in children is susceptible to damage from lead poisoning.[53] The propensity of infants and young children to explore the world through their mouths or play in what may be lead contaminated areas, increases their likelihood of ingesting or inhaling lead in dust and dirt.[54]

In China, lead exposure may occur through a variety of sources such as lead-polluted air, paint, water, food, lead-painted toys, and stationery. [55] Determining the overall extent of lead poisoning in China is difficult due to a lack of comprehensive data, but an increasing number of sources including academic and media reports suggest that lead poisoning is becoming a public health emergency, especially in heavy industrial areas. In a study published in 2004 of the blood lead levels of children in rural communities in Zhejiang province, the average blood lead level was 9.5 μg/dL; children whose parents worked in potentially lead contaminated sites had BLLs greater than 10 μg/dL. [56] A review of reports regarding lead poisoning in the Chinese medical literature between 1990 and 2005 found that the 2002 Occupational Diseases Prevention and Control Act had limited impact on either lead exposure or lead poisoning in China. [57]

Even in non-industrial areas located away from heavy metal facilities, people were still found to have elevated blood lead levels. In 2004 in Chengdu, located in Sichuan province, 938 children under seven-years-old were tested for elevated blood lead levels; the average BLL was 6.4 μg/dL.[58] The studies concluded that using formula rather than breast milk and living on the ground floor, in one story houses, or near the street were all considered major risk factors in exacerbating lead exposure.[59]

In an attempt to provide an overall picture of the distribution of blood lead levels among children in China, researchers from the Peking University Health Science Center reviewed articles regarding children’s BLLs from 1994 to 2004. The study looked specifically at children living in sites far from industrial sources of lead pollution and found a BLL average of 9.3 μg/dL; 34 percent of subjects possessed BLLs greater than 10 μg/dL.[60] Children in Shaanxi were found to have the highest average BLL and highest prevalence of BLLs over 10 μg/dL (70.6 percent). After Shaanxi, provinces with the highest averages included Henan and Sichuan, following by Gansu, Hainan, Lioaning, Jilin, and Yunnan. Despite these cases of elevated blood levels in non-industrial and urban areas, China has not yet established a routine national blood lead surveillance system.

Social Unrest Due to Environmental Hazards at Home and in the Workplace

Chinese residents are increasingly participating in public protests, which the government refers to as “mass incidents”.[61] Protests over pollution and occupational health and labor disputes are increasingly accounting for many of the more than 100,000 mass protests occurring each year in China.

As reported by Chinese media, the MEP acknowledged that in Shaanxi province alone in 2009, there were 32 public disturbances (起群体性事件).[62] In addition, an average of 10 air and water contamination accidents nationally was reported per month in 2010.[63] Environmental protests are largely in rural areas, and many are either quickly suppressed or censored. Any news of these incidents often emerges days or weeks later.[64]

For instance in 2005, thousands of people rioted in the village of Huaxi in Zhejiang province after police officers attempted to stop elderly villagers from protesting the poor air quality and contaminated farmland due to a nearby factory’s pollution.[65] Although the government temporarily suspended the factory’s operation after several weeks of protesting, villagers reported that the government eventually sent over 3,000 police officers in response to disperse the elderly women who continued to protest and the village erupted in violence. According to a local resident, the village had already sent representatives to file complaints at the government petition offices in Zhejiang province and Beijing over the course of two years, with “no results.”[66]

Although environment-related protests largely occur in rural areas, growing social unrest caused by environmental concerns has also risen among city dwellers and the middle class.[67] In 2009 more than one thousand people protested the construction of a rubbish incinerator in a district in Guangzhou province.[68] In 2008 hundreds in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, protested against the construction of an ethylene and oil refinery in a neighboring city. Over 400 residents took part in the peaceful demonstration against the joint project between the Sichuan provincial government and PetroChina, a publicly traded subsidiary of the country’s main oil producer.[69] In interviews, critics of the joint venture stated that the government had failed to perform proper environmental assessments and hold public hearings on the project.[70]

In China the number of labor disputes due to occupational health hazards has also risen dramatically with a 16-fold increase from 1994 to 2006. Between 2004 and 2005, the number of labor-related protests rose from 87,000 to 127,000.[71] In an effort to address occupational health hazards, the central government has launched investigations into workplace health and safety. During a nationwide campaign in 2002, authorities probed more than 48,000 enterprises and found that almost one quarter had violated laws on labor safety and occupational disease control.[72] The Chinese government subsequently shut down or suspended production in more than 12,000 enterprises that failed to protect employees from toxic working conditions.[73]

Access to Information and Environmental Protection

In an effort to ease public fears about industrial pollution, China has instituted legislation that calls for increased transparency of environmental pollution issues. In 2008 China passed the Environmental Information Measures, a law which requires environmental protection departments to disclose information such as environmental statistics, environmental investigative information, the allocation of total emission quotas of major pollutants and their implementation, the issuance of pollutant emission permits and importantly, lists of heavily polluting enterprises, enterprises that have caused serious environmental pollution accidents, and enterprises that refuse to enforce environmental administrative penalty decisions.[74] Article 5 of the law explicitly states that citizens have the right to request environmental information from government departments as well.[75] However, a recent survey performed by the US-based National Resource Defense Council and the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs, a Chinese research institute, found that average compliance levels remained low despite the recent passage of the Environmental Information Measures.[76] Of the 113 municipal environmental protection departments that were tested, only five were recognized for meeting information disclosure requirements.

In addition to the Environmental Information Measures, the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information legally obligate local governments to disclose information that is “vital” to public interest. Articles 9-12 state that governments must disclose any information that “involves the vital interests of citizens, legal persons or other organizations” or is related to “important and major matters in urban and rural construction and management.”[77] Article 5 further states, “Citizens, legal persons and other organizations may request environmental protection departments to obtain government environmental information.”[78]

Despite these laws, the public continues to be blocked from accessing public information. For example, during the Heilongjiang Provincial government’s 2009 environmental emergency management work meeting, media outlets were invited to observe proceedings. However, as two journalists from Xinhua, the Chinese state media outlet, attempted to photograph internal documents listing polluting enterprises, a local official stopped them, saying that the information was “confidential.” He added that the current public information was “enough,” despite the fact that China’s transparency laws require environmental departments to disclose the information. Xinhua later ran an article asking, “How can it be that information meant to be disclosed and publicly supervised is kept confidential from the media and the public? Especially information regarding enterprises’ illegal discharge of pollutants – how can this ‘confidentiality’ protect the people’s right to know and right to supervise?” [79]