China's "Cancer Villages"

The Yangtze is the longest river in Asia and the third longest river in the world (superseded only by The Nile and The Amazon). It is the sixth largest river in terms of water discharged into the sea, The Yangtze releases 8 million gallons of water into the East China Sea every second. The Yangtze watershed (the area that drains all the streams and rainfall to a common outlet) encompasses over 700,000 square miles - about 20% of China's total land area. This famous river stretches over 3,900 miles from Tibet to Shanghai and passes through 8 other provinces. [8] [10]

The Yangtze and its 700+ tributaries are the main source of drinking water for the nearly 400 million people living nearby. That means this river is the main source of water for 35% of China's population or over 5% of the world population. [3] [8] [10]

This river irrigates more than 1/3 of China's agricultural output; its water is necessary to produce 40% of their grain, 25% of their rice, 30% of their cotton, and 48% of freshwater fish. [10]

It also can account for 40% of China's total industrial output. Since data about factory locations is rarely released by China, one can infer that of China's 60,000 factories there are ~24,000 that are near the Yangtze. [10]

Factories and power plants are the primary contributors to pollution along the Yangtze as they routinely dump untreated wastewater into the river. Whether the dumping is intentional or not, the toxic industrial runoff pours into the waterways and seeps into the soil. According to government reports, more than 70% of the country's rivers and lakes are polluted. Although some areas have begun to take steps towards being more eco-conscious, many areas still go unchecked by local government officials. [1]

The biggest contributors to pollution along the Yangtze are the factories that dump water directly into the river. In a three year span, 63 billion metric tons of industrial and municipal wastewater was dumped into China's rivers. Most of the water dumped into the river goes completely unfiltered, untreated, and unsupervised. In 1997, of the 45 billion cubic meters of wastewater studied, more than 40 billion cubic meters was deemed "untreated". [1] [5] [10]

One of the biggest problems with this pollution is the anonymity of it. It is clear that the chemicals being dumped are having adverse effects on the population forced to drink it, however as Wu Yixiu (a campaigner for Greenpeace East Asia) puts it, "There are too many specific chemicals involved and too many types of cancer; diagnoses are spread over too many years. You need to establish the fact that a certain chemical that's causing certain cancers is being discharged by a certain factory. This would require years of observation and tracing disease records." On top of that, since all these factories are dumping water, treated or untreated, into the same rivers, it is nearly impossible to tell the polluters from the non-polluters. [1] [2] [5]

A phosphate fertilizer manufacturing company located on top of a hill right outside Liuchong Village has been highlighted as a major contributor to health and environmental issues for this region. As they produce the fertilizer, a byproduct known as phosphogypsum is created. This gray and ashy material has been found to contain cancer causing chemicals such as arsenic, uranium, and radium. It is routinely dumped on a large pile directly downwind and downstream from Liuchong Village which has experienced a plethora of health concerns as one of China's "Cancer Villages". Residents claim these issues did not rise until after the factory was moved in. [4]

Zhong Shoubin, the owner of Dasheng Chemical has been known to intimidate villagers against speaking to outsiders about the pollution. The local doctor claims that Zhong has also threatened to kill anyone who talks badly about the company. [4]

Ever since the Nanyang Chemical Industry Zone opened in Wuli Village, locals have faced considerate health problems. After its opening in 1992, waterways have turned black with soapy-white froth bubbling along the banks. After heavy petitioning by residents, the municipal government promised to shut it down within three years. These plants are still very much active and even new chemical plants such as Hangzhou Cairui have opened without the villager's approval. [1] [2] [5] [6]

This plant has been renowned by academic studies, media reports, and local suspicions for being a major polluter in a "Cancer Village" known as Dongxing. After its opening in 2000, the village's ducks, chickens, and geese began dying at substantial rates. Villagers say that they had to sleep with wet clothes over their face in fear of inhaling the toxic chemicals, and parents were forced to send their children to schools in neighboring towns because of its proximity to the river. This plant is now abandoned, but has been credited to giving cancer to more than 100 residents in a 5 year period. [1]

Located in Yanglingang, this along with other power plants, tanneries, and industrial zones have been polluting the river since their founding in the early 2000s. There is no public water supply in Yanglingang, however this was not a problem before the Nine Dragons Paper Mill set up shop right outside of town. The pollution comes through the waste water discharged directly into the river in addition to the giant smoke stacks that billow white smoke and spread a thin layer of gray ash across the nearby villages. [1] [5]

Government action has been taken towards bettering the country's environmental standing in recent years. President Xi Jinping called for "an end to destructive development along [The Yangtze River]" and unveiled an action plan to restore the Yangtze by the end of 2020. The city of Yichang aims to close all 134 of its riverside chemical factories, while authorities in Hunan have utilized drones with infrared cameras to spot factories dumping unprocessed waste water. 4,987 small companies along the Huai River (a tributary of the Yangtze) were closed and an additional 1,562 larger companies have changed their waste management to meet national pollution standards. This is all due to an effort made by the central government who has considered implementing stricter laws to punish "ecological crimes" such as dumping untreated sewage and industrial waste into the Yangtze basin. However, it is not always so well regulated. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Lax environmental standards thus far in conjunction with local officials tampering with pollution data has caused the Yangtze to look cleaner on paper than in reality. The Huai River has undergone extensive testing and according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) has improved in condition due to stricter industrial regulations and an increasing number of water treatment facilities. However the Ministry of Water Resources (MWR) argues against the accuracy of these cleanup claims. The MWR is responsible for monitoring the water quality and disagrees with the MEP's method of measuring pollution levels. [1] [5]

The Chinese government publicly disclosed the existence of over 250 "Cancer Villages" in 2013 -most of which are located within the Yangtze watershed- but then condemned that statement as "not accurate or not appropriate" and reprimanded the ministry of environmental protection for releasing said information. The Chinese government has made it clear that they do not want this information publicized. Local authorities have continued to treat the issue as they long have; with denial, intimidation, and silence. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [7] [9]