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LANDSCAPE polluted
A huge and expanding area of polluted mud is encroaching on a beautiful landscape in central China’s Hunan Province.
Feitian Mountain, known for its distinctive Danxia landform, was once described by Chinese explorer Xu Xiake (1587-1641) as “unique in every inch of land.” But a wastewater treatment station of a local power plant has been legally discharging waste to the region since 2007.
Three dams were erected to form a closed reservoir for waste discharge. An 11-kilometer pipe connecting the plant and the reservoir continuously discharges coal dust mixed with wastewater, forming a small waterfall of polluted water.
The accumulated dust and mud has already filled natural ravines in the region and formed a huge fan-shaped mud lake, which contrasts with the red mountains and green waters nearby.
Because it was outside the park housing the landscape, the facility was approved after an environmental impact assessment 10 years ago. Despite complaints from local residents and volunteer environmental protectors, no moves have been taken to correct the situation, with officials suggesting they are powerless to act because of the plant’s legal status.
Toxic industry
Daying Town in north China’s Hebei Province has long been famous for its fur-processing industry, which is comprised of some 10,000 small companies and workshops and employs around 15,000 people.
Yet this thriving industry has grown at tremendous cost to the local environment.
Numerous rivers in and around Daying, known as “the home of furs in China,” are now filled with black and brown water and have been discolored for at least several months.
The town’s main waterway, the Yingnan Canal, has run dry with its bed dotted with mounds of sludge.
Work crews with excavators and bulldozers are now busy installing a system of drainage pipes which local officials say will alleviate the problem. But many residents who have profited from the polluting fur and leather trade appear reluctant to bow out of the toxic industry.
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