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China’s Rural Environment Deteriorates

On June 4, 2013, China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) released a report on China’s environment. According to the report, pollution has resulted in the poor quality of the water and air in China. Of a total of 113 environmentally protected cities, only 23.9 percent meet acceptable air quality criteria.

The rural environment, including drinking water and air, suffers different degrees of contamination. Last year, China’s emission of chemical oxygen and its ammonia emissions was 24.2 million tons and 2.54 million tons respectively. Rural pollution has resulted in food safety problems. For example, not long ago, Guangdong Province had to admit that their rice contained heavy metals that had exceeded safety criteria.

Source: BBC Chinese, June 4, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2013/06/130604_china_environment_rural.shtml