China's "Love Canal" moment?

![Figure][1] Call to action. A child protests in the Love Canal neighborhood in 1978. CREDIT: AP PHOTO/DS In February 2013, a posting in China's burgeoning blogosphere accused business owners in Shandong Province of disposing waste water through injection wells and contaminating shallow groundwater ([ 1 ][2]). This seemingly innocuous message, describing a practice that is not uncommon, ignited a firestorm on the Internet ([ 2 ][3]). The outburst of condemnation and concern caught many observers by surprise and reached the uppermost echelon of the Chinese government ([ 3 ][4]). Du Ying, Vice Chair of the powerful National Development and Reform Commission, declared that "China needs a law specifically designed for groundwater protection" ([ 4 ][5]). Groundwater provides about 20% of total water supplies for China, and 50 to 80% of water in water-scarce north and northwest regions of the country ([ 5 ][6]). However, the outlook for groundwater quality is bleak. According to the latest round of water well sampling in 2011 in more than 200 cities and administrative regions by China's Ministry of Land and Resources, fully 55% of more than 4700 samples indicated groundwater of category IV or V [on a scale of I to V from the best to poorest quality ([ 6 ][7])]. Still, no one knows the true extent and severity of groundwater pollution in China. It is imperative that the Chinese government move aggressively and assertively to combat groundwater pollution. The challenges and action of the United States and other developed countries should serve as an example. The United States alone has spent hundreds of billions of dollars on detecting, monitoring, assessing, and remediating contaminated groundwater since the 1970s ([ 7 ][8]), when groundwater contamination of the Love Canal neighborhood in New York brought groundwater protection to the American public's consciousness and the forefront of national priorities. China should formulate and enforce strong groundwater pollution prevention and protection plans, backed by adequate financial resources, sufficient incentives not to pollute, and strong implementation of the existing regulations. This is urgent, as potable water is scarce in the most populated areas and China cannot afford the destruction of its groundwater resources. Perhaps the Internet storm of 2013 would be remembered kindly by history if it were to become China's "Love Canal" moment. 1. [↵][9] Sohu Business News Portal, "Multiple enterprises said to be disposing deadly waste water through injection wells" (17 February 2013). 2. [↵][10] Xinhua News Network, "A lost cause: China's groundwater" (24 February 2013). 3. [↵][11] China Daily, "Advisory body sets sights on pollution" (12 March 2013). 4. [↵][12] China Radio Network, "Du Ying: Overall groundwater protect does not rule out trend of increased pollution" (7 March 2013). 5. [↵][13] 1. J. Qiu , Nature 466, 308 (2010). [OpenUrl][14][CrossRef][15][PubMed][16][Web of Science][17] 6. [↵][18] China Ministry of Environmental Protection, "National Quality Standard for Ground Water (GB/T 14848-93)" (1994). 7. [↵][19] , Alternatives for managing the nation's complex contaminated groundwater sites (National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2012). [1]: pending:yes [2]: #ref-1 [3]: #ref-2 [4]: #ref-3 [5]: #ref-4 [6]: #ref-5 [7]: #ref-6 [8]: #ref-7 [9]: #xref-ref-1-1 "View reference 1 in text" [10]: #xref-ref-2-1 "View reference 2 in text" [11]: #xref-ref-3-1 "View reference 3 in text" [12]: #xref-ref-4-1 "View reference 4 in text" [13]: #xref-ref-5-1 "View reference 5 in text" [14]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DNature%253B%2BPhysical%2BScience%2B%2528London%2529%26rft.stitle%253DNature%253B%2BPhysical%2BScience%2B%2528London%2529%26rft.aulast%253DQiu%26rft.auinit1%253DJ.%26rft.volume%253D466%26rft.issue%253D7304%26rft.spage%253D308%26rft.epage%253D308%26rft.atitle%253DChina%2Bfaces%2Bup%2Bto%2Bgroundwater%2Bcrisis.%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1038%252F466308a%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F20631772%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [15]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.1038/466308a&link_type=DOI [16]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=20631772&link_type=MED&atom=%2Fsci%2F340%2F6134%2F810.1.atom [17]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=000279867100010&link_type=ISI [18]: #xref-ref-6-1 "View reference 6 in text" [19]: #xref-ref-7-1 "View reference 7 in text"