The factories in China that are powered by coal and the polluted waterways there are causing damages costing billions of dollars, increasingly polluting the farmlands of the country, according to a report by a state press.
Every year, 12 million tons of grains are contaminated by heavy metals. This is leading to direct losses of more than 20 billion yuan ($2.6 billion), according to the China Daily. It is more than 24.7 million acres, i.e. 10 percent of the farming land of China that has been ruined by contamination alone, according to the paper citing other reports in the state-run press.
To make the situation worse, more than two billion tons of coal is burnt each year. And, as a result, it discharges around 2,000 tons of mercury into the environment. According to the paper, much of the highly toxic heavy metal seeps into the soil. It added that vegetables and fruit have also been polluted by nitrate, with its excessive amounts reaching the ground.
The newspaper China Daily, warning the need for urgent measures to address the problem, said in an editorial,
It takes a long time for pollutants to accumulate in soil to the point of causing real harm. And it will take even more time and be more costly to rid the soil of harmful elements.