Nearly a third of the
surface water in Shanxi, China's biggest coal producing province, is so
polluted that it cannot be used by humans, the local environmental watchdog
said in a notice on Wednesday.
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| China, Shanxi province. Coal Ash, the solid byproduct of burning coal, is China's largest source of solid waste. After burning, the chemical compounds in coal become far more concentrated in coal ash than in raw coal. Lab tests by Greenpeace found more than 20 different heavy metals and chemicals in the coal ash samples. Ash is carried by wind over long distances, the heavy metals seeps into groundwater as well as rivers, and can easily contaminate the food chain. ©Zhao Gang/Greenpeace. |
