Questions of accumulated environmental harm - People’s Republic of China

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In People’s Republic of China (China), the problem of environmental harm caused by economic development and increased consumption is becoming more and more obvious. In the works of Chinese scientists, attention is paid to various aspects of harm caused to the environment. Including aspects of the impact on water resources [1], the impact of pollutants, even on regions located at a considerable distance from the source of the impact [2], the objects of accumulated environmental harm and methods of reclamation are typified [3], including quarries left after the extraction of minerals by the open pit method [4], reclamation of mines [5]. Studies are being conducted concerning the state of water bodies [6], the increase in the area of urban areas and their impact on the environment [7]. Studies and comparative analysis in dynamics are conducted for various provinces of China, for example, Guangdong [8]. In China the issue of accumulated environmental damage is actual as in other countries. According to some reports, there is currently no official publicly available register of objects of accumulated environmental harm in China, at the same time regulatory documents on accumulated environmental harm are being actively issued, for example: 1) “Technical Guideline on Construction and Operation of Heavy Metal Contaminated Soil Landfill” - DB11/T 810-2011[18]; 2) “Technical Guideline for Contaminated Sites Remediation Validation” - DB11/T 783-2011[19]; 3) “Screening Levels for Soil Environmental Risk Assessment of Sites” - DB11/T 811-2011[20]; 4) “Technical guidelines for Monitoring During Risk Control and Remediation of Soil Contamination of Land for Construction” - HJ 25.2-2019[21]; 5) “Technical Guidelines for soil Remediation of Land for Construction” - HJ 25.4-2019 [22]; 6) “Technical Specifications for Emergency Monitoring in Environmental Accidents” - HJ 589-2021[23]. It is also important to note that even with knowledge of the Chinese language, it may be difficult to find the original document - it is more likely to find an official copy on non-governmental resources. Important to note, that in the title of documents, “HJ” stand for “environment”, it means this document is the environment document for every place in China. “DB” stand for “Local Standard”, it means this fill is only work for a certin place in China. Documents 1, 2, 3 are all standards only work for Beijing, documents 4, 5, 6 is work for every where in China. It can be concluded that the system of elimination of objects of accumulated environmental damage in China is similar to the existing one in the Russian Federation and is also on the way to eliminate objects of accumulated environmental damage, for example in Gongzhou [9]. It is also important to understand that the proposed translations of documents are not always correct and relevant. It is important to involve local specialists for translation, for example, when conducting environmental audits at enterprises in China with the involvement of foreign consultants. It should also be noted that in some works of Russian authors, for example [10], incorrect details of Chinese documents and names are indicated. It is also important to remember that documents in China are periodically updated, as in Russia [11] and other countries.

About the authors

Xuecong Zhang

RUDN University

Email: 1032224490@rudn.ru
Master’s student of Institute of Environmental Engineering 6 Miklukho-Maklaya St, Moscow, 117198, Russian Federation

Vladimir E. Pinaev

RUDN University

Author for correspondence.
Email: pinaev-ve@rudn.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-8943-5462

Cand. Sc. Econ., Docent, Department of Environmental Security and Product Quality Management, Institute of Environmental Engineering

6 Miklukho-Maklaya St, Moscow, 117198, Russian Federation

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