A PH indicator shows the polluted farmland in Zhejiang Province. (File photo)
(ECNS) -- China will launch a nationwide survey on pollution after a study showed as much as 16.1 percent of the country's total soil and 19.4 percent of arable land contain higher-than-permitted levels of contaminants, Chen Jining, Minister of Environmental Protection, said at a press conference on Monday.
Regions in Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and northeastern industrial centers registered more serious soil pollution while southwestern and central-southern areas suffered more from high levels of heavy metals, according to Chen.
The minister added that China would soon introduce an action plan with 10 major measures aimed at soil protection.
It will start the survey and impose a multi-layered administration of land according to type.
China will also establish a database on soil characteristics and improve standards and technology for treatment of polluted land, he said.
