Chinese sewage discharged into ocean breaches pollution standards: report

0 Comments | AFP, February, 2006

BEIJING (AFP) — Eighty-four percent of the sewage that China discharges into the ocean exceeds national pollution standards, state media reported.

In 2005 alone, the world's most populous nation poured 14.6 million tonnes of fecal bacteria and other pollutants into the sea, the Xinhua news agency said, citing the State Oceanic Administration.

"The natural ecological conditions in China's main estuaries, bays and coastal wetlands are negatively affected," an unnamed official with the administration told the agency.

The administration was not quoted as saying what it planned to do about the problem.

A combination of rapid economic development and continued population growth means China is putting unsustainable pressure on its water resources.

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