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Sixteen Red Tides were recorded in Guangdong in 2012

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Sixteen Red Tides were recorded in Guangdong in 2012

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Guangdong coastal water quality is declining, with worst areas around Hong Kong

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Guangdong coastal water quality is declining, with worst areas around Hong Kong

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A article with a national viewpoint about the declining water qualities near Shenzhen and Hong Kong- again, it mentions the pollutants, and how in many places, the limit for the amount of pollutants that should be put in the water was ignored, and much more amount of pollutants were dumped in the water.

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Guangdong coastal water quality is declining, with worst areas around Hong Kong

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Pollution in Guangdong's coastal waters continued to worsen last year, mainly in the Pearl River Delta, which affected offshore water quality in Hong Kong.

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Urbanization brings a lot more people to Shenzhen, and a lot more people meant a lot more cars. Each and every one of these cars (unless they are e-cars) probably fume out a lot of co2 and other toxic or potentially harmful gas. Shenzhen now has a really good metro system, and the buses were always running, so perhaps the people in Shenzhen should realize that it may be comfortable to use private cars now, but later on, as the air quality becomes worse, we might come to regret it.

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A lot of people smoke in China- and Shenzhen has so much people in such a small place, which basically means a lot of smokers! The government doesn't have very strict laws regarding smoking, so people freely smoke wherever they want. There should be set policies about non-smoking areas, and maybe raising the cost of the cigarettes will help people decide to quit. The government could also have a campaign about how smoking is bad not only for the smoker's health, but for everyone else too.

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In the recent years, there has been many electricity-powered taxies running through Shenzhen. Because electric taxies don't produce smoke, which means it puts less pressure on the air pollution in shenzhen.

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This is a local news from 2011 saying that a new law will be active from 2012, which will make factories that do not follow restrictions about pollution pay large amount of fines. Compared to the previous laws, I think that it is effective, but the government should try to develop a system where they will be able to effectively watch over all factories so they won't find the loopholes and dump their trash behind the scenes.

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Chinese enterprises that are caught polluting will be fined 10,000 yuan a day while they will fail to comply with the environmental rules in accordance with new legislation that is currently being considered by the government.

The new law being drafted will be released to the public later this year and will be submitted for approval during next year's parliamentary session. China has been long struggling to strike a balance between their economic growth and environmental protection and has had difficulty in enforcing industrial enterprises to comply with pollution rules.

The current fine ranges and administrative punishments are regarded as too small or too lenient to act as a deterrent for the violators of the pollution rules. Experts are hoping that the new law will make sure that the fines will be enough to provide compensation for environmental disasters. But raising the cost might force small enterprises that are caught polluting to close down, and might not be enough to discourage larger firms from polluting.

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New Law to Increase Penalties to Encourage Firms to Comply with Pollution Rules

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Chinese enterprises that are caught polluting will be fined 10,000 yuan a day while they will fail to comply with the environmental rules in accordance with new legislation that is currently being considered by the government. The new law being drafted will be released to the public later this year and will be submitted for approval during next year's parliamentary session.

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Recent study showed that Hong Kong's air was the 3rd most polluted in Asia. Hong Kong's air qualities have a lot of relationship to Shenzhen's air qualities, as they are so close to each other.

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articles

"Wastewater Treatment: What's Really Going On?" Greenpeace East Asia. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2013.

"Shenzhen Seas Seriously Polluted." – Clear The Air News Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2013.

"Shenzhen Mangroves Dying; Mai Po Could Be next." South China Morning Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2013.

"Pearl River Delta Water 'severely Polluted': Expert." MACAU DAILY TIMES -. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2013.

"City Air Pollution on High Level Due to Car Emissions." Shenzhen Standard. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2013.

"New Law to Increase Penalties to Encourage Firms to Comply with Pollution Rules."Shenzhen Standard. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2013.

"Shenzhen, Dongguan and Huizhou to Receive River Deadlines_Welcome to Dongguan Today." Shenzhen, Dongguan and Huizhou to Receive River Deadlines_Welcome to Dongguan Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2013.

"Guangdong Coastal Water Quality Is Declining, with Worst Areas around Hong Kong."South China Morning Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2013.

Tao, Jenny. Personal Interview. 20 May 2013.

Images

"BYD Wants to Rule The World Hong Kong's Taxi Market." The Truth About Cars. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2013.

"City Emissions Pollution Soars." The Definitive Guide to Shenzhen, Shekou, Guangdong, China. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2013.

"Sandstorm Brought Severe Air Pollution in Shanghai." Sandstorm Brought Severe Air Pollution in Shanghai. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2013.

"Wastewater Treatment: What's Really Going On?" Greenpeace East Asia. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2013.

"6 under 60." 6 under 60. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2013.

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How is pollution in Shenzhen is related to the urbanization/ industrialization of Shenzhen and what is being done about it?

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Shenzhen when it was a rural fishing village- there are no high bulidings, and the sky seems very clear with almost no pollution

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The smog in Shenzhen nowdays

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Sewage running into the water

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This is a global viewpoint about the water pollution in Shenzhen- Greenpeace went to see how the Shenzhen Resource was doing about keeping pollutants away from the sea. They found that the Shenzhen Resource are not doing such a great job- there were still a lot of acidic wastes, heavy metals, and other potentially toxic compounds in the water. In the end, they state that in order to really get rid of pollution, Shenzhen will have to pull out the roots by using less toxic chemicals in the first place, finding a replacement for the toxic material, or other solutions that directly deal with the problem.

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Feature Story - 2010-08-13

Greenpeace tested the waters at a reputable Shenzhen wastewater treatment plant. The results surprised us.

A rich web of water criss-crosses the Pearl River Delta, embracing an even denser concentration of industrial zones. Factories great and small are scattered thickly along highways and dirt roads, between cities and country fields. This is China's earliest economic development zone, but it has paid a price: its rivers now are black and lusterless.

Dongbao is one such river. Separating the economic powerhouses of Shenzhen and Dongguan, the river hosts a wealth of industrial zones and building complexes on its banks. In the morning, when the water level is high, the river flows along quietly. In the afternoon, the river is low, exposing discharge pipes of all sizes. The pipe mouths are encrusted with black sediment.

Near the Dongbao River, there's a particularly intriguing "environmental protection company." Shenzhen Resource Environmental Technology ("Shenzhen Resource") claims to specialize in the comprehensive utilization and treatment of industrial waste, with a focus on removing acids and metals. After treatment, the wastewater is piped to somewhere near the Dongbao River.

Shenzhen Resource is not without credentials. It's a subsidiary of Dongjiang Environment, China's first privately operated environmental protection enterprise to be listed abroad (on Hong Kong Stock Exchange's Growth Enterprise Market). Forbes included Dongjiang in its list of Top 100 Potential Enterprises in China consecutively from 2005 to 2007.
Was Shenzhen Resource all it claimed to be? Greenpeace decided to put it to the test.
In June of 2009, Greenpeace collected three wastewater samples and two sediment samples outside the factory. In December, the results came back: the supposedly treated water still contained various hazardous chemicals, including acidic wastes, heavy metals, and organic chemical compounds.

More tellingly, certain pollutants were found only at night, including multiple kinds of metals at high concentrations. Among these, manganese, beryllium, copper, and lead were found at concentrations four to 25 times higher than Guangdong province's limit. Manganese and copper exceeded concentration limits by 10 to 74 times. In addition, the discharge was highly acidic, with pH levels far above the allowed standards.

Many of the metals found in the tests are potentially toxic, especially at high concentrations. It's critical to note that large quantities of lead are highly toxic and also accumulate in organisms. Additionally, aquatic animals are very sensitive to dissolved coppers. Worsening the situation is the wastewater's high acidity, which is not only harmful to aquatic life but also increases the water solubility, fluidity and toxicity of metals.

This February, Greenpeace gave the test results to Guangdong province's Environmental Protection Office, requesting them to take action immediately. In June, we finally confirmed through telephone that Shenzhen Resource has been shut down and was in the midst of preparing to move their factory.

Was that the end of the story? Or was it just one fleeting scene in a far larger play that encompasses many more similar tales of environmental pollution?

In reality, it is impossible for end treatment to completely purge wastewater of its hazardous chemicals. At best, treatment plants like Shenzhen Resource can convert hazardous chemicals from one medium to another, such as from wastewater to sediments. What's more their procedures are designed to remove only metals, without testing for other organic pollutants. This is a dangerous neglect, as organic pollutants are more difficult to treat than metals and can also pose significant health threats.

If we really want to end the pollution, then we must go to the source. We need to reduce our use of hazardous chemicals and find less hazardous - or completely non-hazardous - substitutes. We can also push for factories to change their production methods to create fewer toxic by-products. At the very least, factories should immediately cease to discharge wastewater containing hazardous chemicals directly into our rivers. But only if we actively reduce or avoid the use of hazardous chemicals, then can we solve the problem of wastewater pollution at the root.

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Wastewater treatment: What's really going on?

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Feature Story - 2010-08-13 Greenpeace tested the waters at a reputable Shenzhen wastewater treatment plant. The results surprised us. A rich web of water criss-crosses the Pearl River Delta, embracing an even denser concentration of industrial zones. Factories great and small are scattered thickly along highways and dirt roads, between cities and country fields.

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Shenzhen Mangroves dying due to industrial pollution

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Shenzhen Mangroves dying due to industrial pollution

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Shenzhen has 169.7 hectares of mangrove forest, but the area is rapidlly decresing. There are many reasons- first, the mangroves are now surrounded by various farms, meaning that the runoff water from the farms will be overly nutrient-rich, making it easier for foreign species to invade the habitat of the mangroves. This can lead to a collapse in the ecosystem as many species of birds are losing their place to live. Shenzhen is planning on investing money in order to bring back the mangrove forests and making the ecosystem more stable. I think that subsidizing groups that will support the mangrove forests or directly helping preserve the mangrove forests will help, but raising awareness of the disappearing mangrove forest may also help. Before reading this, I had no idea that the Mangrove forests were disappearing- but now that I know, I realize that it's actually a big habitat for many birds and other organisms, so if the Mangrove forests are destroyed further, it won't be just a matter of something more than just pollution. Not only will there be less trees to provide fresh oxygen, there will be issues with the ecosystem if the species that live there have decreases in population.

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Shenzhen mangroves dying; Mai Po could be next

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Deep Bay pollution threat to bird haven, HK warned as border city faces disaster...

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Metal Pollution in the Pearl River Delta

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Metal Pollution in the Pearl River Delta

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Domestic sewage and other pollutants that are dumped into the water near the Pear River Delta (including seas near Shenzhen) are causing high amount of metals such as copper and zinc to be found inside the water. Researchers actually found that the fish living in this water also had metal in their body system, so this can lead to harm people's health as a lot of fishing is going on in this area. I realize that if people continuously dump trash or toxic materials, the fish will get contaminated and if we eat those fishes, basically we are going to be eating the trash we dumped in the sea. Before the urbanization in Shenzhen, the government probably didn't feel the need to control the dumping as there wasn't many factories in the first place. But when factories rapidly increased, the amount of dumping increased as well, causing not only enviromental problems, but can also lead to social issues with sickness or plagues due to metal/toxic poisioning from drinking contaminated water or eating fish from that area.

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Air Pollution Serious due to Car Emmisions

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Air Pollution Serious due to Car Emmisions

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This is a local article about how car emissions in Shenzhen affect the air quality in a negative way, and how this can lead to illnesses such as lung cancer, eye irritation, and more- showing how pollution can lead on to start new problems in the community. I think that because there are much more people in Shenzhen compared to 10~20 years ago, and much more people own private cars, the air pollution will become

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According to yesterday's air pollution report by the Shenzhen Meteorological Observatory and the Shenzhen Environment Monitoring Station, Shenzhen Air Polution Index or API average reached 125 posing a risk among people who have heart illness as well as respiratory illness.

API reading is the Nanshan, Bao'an and Futian districts were also relatively high and also poses as a risk to people living in the area. The observatory blames exhaust emissions to be the cause of the increased in pollutants in the air. And API reading from 0 to 50 means no threat to ones health, but if the API is between 101 to 200 it can cause aggravated symptoms to people having heart and respiratory illness. API of 201 to 500 people will experience eye irritation, coughing, and sore throats.

The pollution in the city is mainly caused by car emissions, and with the lack of wind the pollutants can't be dispersed. the observatory advised people with heart and respiratory illness to take precautions and to stop outdoor exercises until the readings go down. API readings in Monday was 127 with a maximum of 186, observatory also announced that situation will start to ease in the next few days with the weather mainly cloudy with a light mist. Temperatures will also start falling and a cold front will be affecting the city bringing in light rain.

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pollution on high level due to car emissions

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City air pollution on high level due to car emissions

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According to yesterday's air pollution report by the Shenzhen Meteorological Observatory and the Shenzhen Environment Monitoring Station, Shenzhen Air Polution Index or API average reached 125 posing a risk among people who have heart illness as well as respiratory illness.

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Although it's not an actual article, this blog post tells us briefly about how Shenzhen's water is contaminated through sewage, and compares the current water quality to past water qualities

of Shenzhen :)

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Nearly half of Shenzhen's coastal waters were found to be seriously contaminated last year, and nine sewage drainage lines were found to be discharging excessive pollutants, according to a maritime study.

A professor of marine chemistry says the problem could worsen this year, as some temporary efforts to improve water quality last year for the World University Games are no longer in effect.

The 2011 study, issued on Wednesday by Shenzhen's Urban Planning and Land Resources Commission, found a total of 565 square kilometres of seriously contaminated seawater. Of the remaining waters, 145 square kilometres were lightly or moderately polluted, and 435 square kilometres were clean.

The contaminated waters were concentrated in Deep Bay and at the mouth of the Pearl River. Inorganic nitrogen and phosphates were the major pollutants.

Though the report covered only waters off Shenzhen, Professor Xu Hong , who has taught marine chemistry at Shenzhen University, said that the contaminated water could make its way to other areas, including Hong Kong.

He blamed illicit discharging of pollutants, along with a lack of oversight, for the heavy pollution. "The government has been addressing excessive discharge through campaigns rather than regular monitoring and checks," he said.

Xu said rapidly increasing pollution caused the high contamination levels in waters of western Shenzhen.

In comparison, seawater quality in the city's east was found to be much better. In Dapeng and Daya bays, both in east Shenzhen, the contamination level was in the first and second categories of the national seawater standards, indicating relatively clean water. But the water in Deep Bay - also known as Shenzhen Bay - and the mouth of the Pearl River was in the fourth category, the worst.

Excessively polluting sewage drains were found responsible for seriously contaminated water near the Kuichong River in the east, and near a sewage-treatment plant in the western Shekou Industrial Zone.

Nitrogen and phosphorus discharged from domestic sewage lines near Deep Bay and the mouth of the Pearl River, coupled with excessive heavy metals from industrial waste in the city's western region, are adversely affecting the marine ecosystem, the study found. There has also been oil pollution from the city's busy ports.

The water quality was better last year than in 2010, according to the report, which pointed to the efforts made ahead of the World University Games the city hosted in August.

Most areas off Shenzhen where seafood and other marine products are farmed met safety standards, as they are mostly in the east.

The two major beaches in the city, at the Dameisha and Xiaomeisha seaside resorts, also recorded good water quality last year, with the waters of Dameisha good for swimming for about 82 per cent of the 190 monitored days from April to October, while in Xiaomeisha the waters were good more than 93 per cent of the time.
sally.wang@scmp.com

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Nearly half of Shenzhen's coastal waters were found to be seriously contaminated last year, and nine sewage drainage lines were found to be discharging excessive pollutants, according to a maritime study. A professor of marine chemistry says the problem could worsen this year, as some temporary efforts to improve water quality last year for the World University Games are no longer in effect.

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An interview with my Chinese tutor, Jenny Tao. She moved from Hunan to Shenzhen 10 years ago :) This interview is not just about pollution, but it's mostly basic/general information about moving to Shenzhen/urbanization.