24-character strategy for preventing and controlling heavy metal pollution in soil

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This post was last edited by yinkuilin6868 on 2015-11-17 at 21:16. Mercury, chromium, arsenic, cadmium, lead, and others are all heavy metals; pollution caused by excessive levels of these substances, which can affect human health, has become a matter of concern for society. Some heavy metals can damage human cells, organs, skin, bones, the urinary system, the digestive system, and the nervous system; some of them can cause cancer, birth defects, and mutations, which has drawn significant attention from society. Excessive levels of heavy metals in soil, excessive cadmium in agricultural products, and rice contamination are all hot topics. Soil is the ultimate destination for pollutants. Soil does not have the ability to purify itself from heavy metal pollution; instead, it exhibits characteristics such as accumulation, concealment, and persistence. Once soil is contaminated by heavy metals, the hazards persist for a long time: soil properties deteriorate, and plant functions are disrupted. Only by testing soil samples using precision instruments, examining crops, or studying the effects on human and animal health can it be determined whether there is heavy metal pollution and to what extent. The treatment and remediation of soil heavy metal pollution are difficult, costly, and time-consuming; therefore, a correct approach and technical roadmap are necessary. This article proposes a 24-word strategy consisting of elements such as understanding the current situation, emulating nature, being demand-oriented, ensuring health, making good use of policies, and innovating models, with the goal of achieving an organic integration of environmental, social, and economic benefits. Understanding the situation involves studying the current status and mechanisms of heavy metal pollution. Existing studies all indicate that the overall situation of soil pollution in China is not optimistic, with severe pollution in some areas. The background levels of heavy metals in soils in areas where non-ferrous metal ores are found are relatively high; in the southwestern carbonate rock regions and the central-southern areas, the extent to which soil heavy metals exceed acceptable levels is significant. Although the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Land and Resources, and the Ministry of Agriculture have carried out extensive work on the survey, testing, and research of soil heavy metal pollution, the existing data remains very limited due to constraints such as sampling density and testing conditions. Given the complex sources of pollutants, the prominent issue of soil contamination, and the lack of clear information on the situation, it is essential to conduct pollution surveys in regional and key areas, in order to analyze the underlying causes and trends in pollution. From the perspective of governance needs, it is necessary to distinguish between secondary pollution caused by human activities and primary pollution that arises from non-modern human activities; secondary pollution can be prevented and controlled, while whether primary pollution requires treatment should be assessed through technical and economic evaluations, thereby laying the foundation for determining the appropriate governance strategies and technical approaches. Imitating nature, focusing on natural recovery, is the principle behind the construction of an ecological civilization; following nature should also be the principle for preventing and controlling heavy metals in soil. Methods for treating and remediating soil heavy metal pollution include physical methods, chemical methods, and phytoremediation. On July 8, 2015, the China Science News published an article titled \"Multiple Measures Must Be Taken Together to Prevent and Control Heavy Metal Pollution in Farmland,\" which outlined technical approaches such as soil replacement, plowing and mixing, topsoil removal, and chemical intervention. On July 20, 2015, the website of the Alliance for the Prevention and Control of Heavy Metal Pollution and Environmental Remediation published an article titled “An Explanation of 15 Techniques for Remedying Polluted Sites.” Each technique has its own advantages; the key is to identify the root cause of the problem and apply the appropriate solution – there is no universal remedy that can fix all problems. Emulate nature to address heavy metal pollution at lower costs. Under natural conditions, the increase in substance concentration from high to low is a process of entropy increase; plants concentrating dispersed substances is a process of entropy decrease. To prevent the increase of entropy on Earth, plants can be used to concentrate toxic elements in the soil. Those who study mineral deposits are well aware that certain types of deposits have characteristic plants growing on the surface; finding such plants is equivalent to finding the mineral deposit. According to a report in the China Mining News on January 13, 2015, Hunan Province has achieved initial success in using mulberry trees to address soil cadmium pollution. Adding soil conditioners can reduce the harm caused by heavy metal pollution; adjusting the variety structure of crops can also achieve certain preventive effects. Demand-oriented: It is demand-driven, focusing on the intended use of the soil after restoration, to determine whether restoration is necessary and what measures should be taken for it. Regarding secondary pollution, prevention should be given priority, including shutting down or relocating enterprises involved in the processing of non-ferrous metals, the chemical industry, pesticide production, electroplating, and the production, storage, and use of chemicals. Without the production of non-ferrous metal industries, there would be no emissions. Companies with higher technical levels and better management practices emit less; therefore, industrial upgrading, phasing out outdated technologies, and technological transformation are important preventive measures. The restored land must meet the corresponding usage standards. For agricultural land, different crops have varying capacities to absorb soil components; therefore, soil heavy metal contamination has an indirect impact on human health, and there is no need to panic. The Ministry of Environmental Protection has issued the \"Soil Environmental Quality Standards\", which serve as a basis for assessing the effectiveness of pollution control measures. Soil pollution is also a concern that should be addressed in construction sites. In 2004, deaths due to toxic fumes occurred during subway construction in Beijing, which led to soil remediation being put on the agenda. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can have adverse effects on human health; therefore, construction sites need to conduct environmental risk assessments for soil contamination and take remedial actions when necessary. Protecting health – The goal of addressing soil heavy metal pollution is to protect health. To address soil heavy metal pollution and ensure public health, it is necessary not only to adapt measures to local conditions and set goals as well as performance indicators for treatment, but also to take into account various stakeholders such as those involved in mining, non-ferrous metal production, and the recycling of non-ferrous metals. Additionally, the intended use of the treated land must be considered, as these factors determine whether the investment is worthwhile. Control heavy metal pollution at the lowest possible cost, either through a goal-oriented approach (setting medium- to long-term goals) or a problem-oriented approach (addressing major pollution issues affecting people’s livelihoods). It is necessary to strike a balance between doing one’s best and acting within one’s capabilities, and to reconcile goal-oriented approaches with problem-solving approaches. It is also important to balance short-term interests with long-term interests, as well as local interests with overall interests. Legal frameworks, standards, economic measures, and necessary administrative actions should be employed to address the issue of soil heavy metal pollution. For various reasons, using different evaluation methods and having different groups conduct evaluations at the same location can lead to different results. Therefore, monitoring and evaluation efforts should be intensified, databases should be established and shared, inspections and penalties should be strengthened, to ensure the achievement of desired outcomes. Make good use of policies; the essence of policies is the adjustment of interests. The prevention, control, and remediation of heavy metals in soil involve investment policies, tax policies, land policies, etc., and it is the expectation of enterprises to make good use of these policies. For enterprises, starting from practical considerations, applying for governance projects means securing policy support; the focus should be on solving problems. Regarding the control of heavy metal pollution, what happens if the polluting enterprises move away? The United States refers to lands where the responsible parties for pollution cannot be identified as \"brownfields\" and has established the \"Superfund\" program to address this issue; such practices and experiences are worth considering by other civilized societies. When it comes to soil pollution, Americans think of the Love Canal incident; what worries them even more is that there were thousands of similar makeshift landfills for hazardous waste across the country at that time, posing a serious threat to public health and environmental safety. Under public pressure, the U.S. Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act in 1980, authorizing the creation of a fund for the management and cleanup of polluted sites, namely the \"Super Fund\". The U.S. Superfund program has played a positive role in the remediation of brownfields. It should be noted that the initial scale of investment in the design was far from sufficient to meet the governance needs, and it even turned into a \"bottomless pit\". The experience of the United States shows that even fund-based enterprises develop \"policy dependence\". To innovate in approaches, addressing the prevention and control of heavy metals in soil requires determining which technical methods to use and how to manage this issue. It is also necessary to figure out where the funding will come from and what kind of returns can be expected. Not only technological and institutional innovation are needed, but also business model innovation. The key factor in choosing a technical approach is cost and cost-effectiveness; essentially, it’s about **getting more services for the same amount of money**. The Ministry of Finance and the **National Development and Reform Commission** have issued documents on cooperation with private capital (PPP), making it possible to address heavy metal pollution through a fund-based approach. Whether the funds come from ** or society, the profit model must be taken into consideration. The prevention, control, and remediation of heavy metals in soil require technological advancements, which are reflected in aspects such as technical approaches, processes, and equipment (solidification technologies). With good ideas and advanced technologies, and by using the right methods to address the right issues, it is possible to effectively tackle the problem of heavy metal pollution control, and even achieve twice the result with half the effort. With good ideas but no good skills, the good outcome is doing good intentions but ending up causing problems, thus paying a price for it; the bad outcome is acting recklessly and then leaving without taking any responsibility. Having good technology but no good strategies can result in half the effort yielding half the results, making it not worth the trouble. Without good technology or good strategies, a good outcome results from acting outside the rules and still succeeding; a bad outcome leaves behind a mess that no one wants to deal with. Keeping up with trends, making good use of policies, leveraging comparative advantages, meeting market demands, and innovating business models should all be key strategic considerations for companies dealing with heavy metal pollution control. Green and low-carbon development is an international trend, as well as an important approach for the construction of ecological civilization in our country. In line with this trend, non-ferrous metal manufacturing enterprises should reduce the emission of heavy metal pollutants at the source, which is also the most effective measure. In the treatment and remediation of soil heavy metal pollution, advanced concepts and mature, applicable technologies should be employed; particular attention should be paid to the use of big data, an international trend, in research and development related to the prevention and control of heavy metal pollution. In China, there is only sparse data in the fields of heavy metal pollution control and soil remediation; no large-scale datasets exist yet. To develop the large amounts of data that have been accumulated over time requires the efforts of entrepreneurs as well as those of the entire society. More importantly, a credibility system across society should be established, shifting from the past \"lose-lose\" strategy of competing to drive down prices, which resulted in harm for all parties, to a \"win-win\" strategy of forming technical or industrial alliances. Only the sustainable development of enterprises can address the issue of heavy metal pollution control; only by resolving soil contamination with heavy metals can agricultural sustainability be achieved, can human health be protected from the harms caused by heavy metal pollution, and can a beautiful China be realized at an earlier date. (Source: China Economic Times)