New | Heavy metal pollution in Hunan soil exceeds China’s limits by 1,500 times

More than 1,500 times the permitted level of heavy metal has been found in soil in China’s south-central Hunan province, according to an unofficial environmental study.

Among the heavy metals found in the soil, the amount of cadmium was 200 times more than that permitted by China’s soil environmental quality standard, China Economic Weekly reported, quoting the findings by non-profit organisation Changsha Shuguang Environmental Charity Development Centre.

The centre, set up in August last year, spent more than 500 days collecting samples from more than 10 cities along the Xiang River. Its findings – the largest unofficial research into the region in recent years – were published on November 15.

The authorities have not made any official response to the report.

In April, a national survey on soil pollution found that national soil pollution was 16.1 per cent higher than the quality standard, and that the main pollutants were mercury, cadmium, arsenic and lead.

According to the Ministry of Environmental Protection’s website, a detailed survey on soil pollution in Hunan had been completed as early as July 2009, but was not released.