January 2022

WORLD NEWS
A VERY NON-OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER

This has allowed a large variety of Another large contributor to Chinas

THE WATER CRISIS chemicals and heavy metals to be dumped problem is that most of their sewage

IN CHINA into the water reservoirs where they are

mixed into the water and are pumped
is not treated. Yes, the country with a
population of over one billion doesnt
BY: ANDY CHAU back into the tap of homes. An example of have a proper sewage infrastructure,
a polluting region is the Hunan region this means that the sewage from the
Yes, the same country with the fastest which is the highest metal pollutant in the many households is pumped into the
growing economy and the world’s largest country, disposing of 39% of the countries river, causing the river to become
population also has a water crisis. As many Lead, 50% of Cadium, and 42% of Arsenic. some sort of sewage itself. Only cities
people know, China is one of the most This is only the tip of the iceberg as there like Shanghai and Bejing have a
polluting countries, releasing tons of are many other industries including the sewage system while the rest of the
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every chemical and pharmaceutical industries, country is left with rivers infested
year, but in the shadow is the slow-growing many of which also dump other toxic with sewage.
water pollution that is harmfully affecting chemicals.
their citizens. The icing on the cake is that although
Sadly, the groundwater isn’t safe either, many of large China’s cities have
The same large factories that contributed to China is one of the world’s largest grain world-class water purification
Chinas success, have become a double- exporters, bringing in billions of dollars, systems, many of the smaller cities
edged sword for them as pollution grows, but what the farmers are using to be so cannot afford to install them,
and the amount of drinkable water efficient has major consequences which meaning that their sewage treatment
decreases. The government’s loose laws on are now starting to affect them. isn’t able to sufficiently purify the
waste disposal have allowed many factories Compounds like the many pesticides and water that goes to the taps of homes.
to take shortcuts, and dispose of their fungicides that are being used have been
waste into the nearby rivers or lakes. contaminating the groundwater and along
- with the already mentioned heavy metals.

A VERY NON-OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER January 2022

 A VERY NON-OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER January 2022

SOCIAL IMPACT "Air and water pollution in

First and most importantly, obviously, the citizens are affected. As China have grabbed the
mentioned before, a lot of their water has been found to be headlines and public attention.
contaminated with Lead, Cadmium, and Arsenic. These are known as
The economic effects are far and
heavy metals and are known to have harmful effects on the body, being
wide and the new leadership has
too heavy for the liver and kidney to dispose of. These metals are also
known to be Carcinogens and essentially interact with cells in the body,
been tackling the issue “with an
many of which have been linked to causing cancer. This affects many of
iron fist”. Air pollution may be
the citizens living in small cities and many of already given up, opting to more visible (despite making
buy bottled water or installing their own water purifier to drink from. This things less visible), but water
doesnt only affect China though since China is one of the world’s largest pollution penetrates the water
grain exporters, the whole world is affected. Nationwide tests in 2002 we drink as well as the food we
from China’s Ministry Of Agriculture reported that 28% of rice farmed had eat"
contained excess lead and 10% contained excess Cadium. This means
that the pollution in China is indirectly poisoning people all over the -CHINA WATER RISK
world and if they were to stop their exports it would cause a major
shortage of all sorts of grains and would drastically increase their prices
of them, affecting many economies.

ECONOMIC IMPACT
This will certainly change China's economy and their laws if they want to
make a change for the better. China has already made a plan backed with
hundreds of billions but in order to speed the process and to make sure
that the water doesnt return to its current state, laws need to be created.
The reason for China’s fast-growing economy is the cheap cost of
building factories due to their loose laws on waste disposal, cheap labor,
etc. But if China wants to clean its waters, new laws need to be placed to
regulate the waste from the many industries, and they need to be
reinforced. Obviously, this will affect the economy, with some companies
taking their business elsewhere but this is a key step for China.

A VERY NON-OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER January 2022

 A VERY NON-OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER January 2022

CITATIONS AND RELIABILTIY
Carcinogen. Genome.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved January 8, 2022, from
https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Carcinogen
RELIABILITY: GOVERNMENT WEBSITE
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
If you were worried about the water going
to the taps, imagine the fish that live in
the water.
A report from The Guardian states that
“Chinese authorities have scooped up
about 100,000kg (220,000lb) of dead fish
they say were poisoned by ammonia from
a chemical plant”(Guardian). This is only
one instance of this happening but this is
an ongoing problem and many fishes are
dying daily, which is slowly killing the
fishing industry.

China pollution. CHINA POLLUTION - Air, Water, Soil & Food Pollution
In China. (n.d.). Retrieved January 8, 2022, from
https://www.billionbibles.com/china/china-pollution.html
RELIABILITY: MANY ARTICLES SAYING THE SAME

Guardian News and Media. (2013, September 4). China finds 100,000kg
of poisoned dead fish in river. The Guardian. Retrieved January 8,
2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/04/china-
poisoned-fish-river
RELIABILITY: NEWS OUTLET

Heavy Metals & Agriculture. China Water Risk. (2018, August 31).
Retrieved January 8, 2022, from
https://www.chinawaterrisk.org/resources/analysis-reviews/heavy-
metals-agriculture/
RELIABILITY: TRUSTED ORGANIZATION WITH A KNOWN AND
HIGHLY EXPERIENCED WRITER

HSBC: No water, no food? Ensuring Food Safety & Security. China

Water Risk. (2018, September 8). Retrieved January 8, 2022, from
https://www.chinawaterrisk.org/notices/hsbc-no-water-no-food-
ensuring-food-safety-security/
RELIABILITY: TRUSTED ORGANIZATION WITH A KNOWN AND
HIGHLY EXPERIENCED WRITER

staff, S. X. (2011, February 16). China rice laced with heavy metals:
Report. Phys.org. Retrieved January 8, 2022, from
https://phys.org/news/2011-02-china-rice-laced-heavy-metals.html
RELIABILITY: INFORMATION GATHERED BY CHINESE OFFICALS

A VERY NON-OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER January 2022