Wu C, Maurer C, Wang Y, Xue S, Davis D L
World Resources Institute, Washington, DC 20006, USA.
Environ Health Perspect. 1999 Apr;107(4):251-6. doi: 10.1289/ehp.99107251.
China's extraordinary economic growth, industrialization, and urbanization, coupled with inadequate investment in basic water supply and treatment infrastructure, have resulted in widespread water pollution. In China today approximately 700 million people--over half the population--consume drinking water contaminated with levels of animal and human excreta that exceed maximum permissible levels by as much as 86% in rural areas and 28% in urban areas. By the year 2000, the volume of wastewater produced could double from 1990 levels to almost 78 billion tons. These are alarming trends with potentially serious consequences for human health. This paper reviews and analyzes recent Chinese reports on public health and water resources to shed light on what recent trends imply for China's environmental risk transition. This paper has two major conclusions. First, the critical deficits in basic water supply and sewage treatment infrastructure have increased the risk of exposure to infectious and parasitic disease and to a growing volume of industrial chemicals, heavy metals, and algal toxins. Second, the lack of coordination between environmental and public health objectives, a complex and fragmented system to manage water resources, and the general treatment of water as a common property resource mean that the water quality and quantity problems observed as well as the health threats identified are likely to become more acute.
中国非凡的经济增长、工业化和城市化进程，再加上对基本供水和处理基础设施投资不足，已导致水污染普遍存在。如今在中国，约7亿人（超过总人口的一半）饮用的饮用水受到动物和人类排泄物污染，农村地区超标幅度高达86%，城市地区为28%。到2000年，废水排放量可能比1990年增加一倍，达到近780亿吨。这些惊人的趋势可能对人类健康造成严重后果。本文回顾并分析了中国近期有关公共卫生和水资源的报告，以阐明这些最新趋势对中国环境风险转变意味着什么。本文有两个主要结论。第一，基本供水和污水处理基础设施的严重不足增加了接触传染病、寄生虫病以及越来越多工业化学品、重金属和藻毒素的风险。第二，环境与公共卫生目标之间缺乏协调、水资源管理系统复杂且分散，以及普遍将水视为公共资源，这意味着所观察到的水质和水量问题以及所确定的健康威胁可能会变得更加严重。
