China is faced with soil contamination, outside of air pollution, as the government admitted, publicizing the results of an official report, which confirms that the problem affects about 16.1% of its territory.

According to the results, stamped by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Land and Natural Resources, pollution affects 19.4%- or nearly one fifth- of farmlands. 82.8% of this is due to inorganic materials, while the main pollutants are cadmium, nickel and arsenic.

“The main source of pollution is human industrial and agricultural activities”, recognized the report’s authors. Industrial waste pollutes the land around factories and mines, while crops often use dirty water and low quality fertilizers and pesticides, which are likely to infiltrate into drinking water.

The findings come from a survey conducted between April 2005 and December 2013 in an area of 630 square kilometers. The researchers found a large increase of emissions compared to the results of previous research, which covered the 1986-1990 period. Indicatively, pollution from cadmium increased between 10% and 50%, with southern China suffering to a greater extent.

The ministries are processing a package to mitigate the problem and pledged to accelerate the adoption of relevant legislation.