China Water pollution reaches critical stage

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Water pollution reaches critical stage (08/1/2000)

The increased occurrences of red tide in sea areas off China's coasts is an obvious indication that water pollution in China has entered its most critical stage, said a Chinese oceanologist.

Shen Yunfen, the oceanologist, said largest red tide that ever occurred in China's offshore areas in the 1990s occurred this year off the 80 km long of coastline of east China's Zhejiang Province.

There were few red tide in China's coastal areas before the 1960s, several recorded in 1970s, 20 times in the 1980s, and up to 30 times in the 1990s, Shen told participants to the on-going international forum on oceanic science-technology and economic development in Qingdao, a coastal city in east Shandong Province.

Large amounts of industrial polluted water and waste water from households is the major cause leading to red tides, posing a big threat not only to ocean plants and animals, but the ocean's eco- system as well.

Efforts should be made to control water pollution in waters in China's inland areas, especially the Yangtze River and the Pearl River, to decrease the occurrences of red tide, says Shen Yunfen, from the hydro-biological institute at the Academy of Social Sciences.

http://chinadaily.com.cn.net/cover/storydb/2000/08/01/cn-criti.731.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), July 31, 2000


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