China has released an ambitious plan to make 90 per cent of its polluted agricultural land “safely usable” within four years, as it addresses a longtime problem that affects food security and public health.

中国发布了一项雄心勃勃的计划，要在四年内使受污染耕地“安全利用率”达到90%左右。目前中国正在应对这个影响粮食安全和公众健康的长期问题。

A survey published in 2014 estimated that 20 per cent of China’s arable¹ land was contaminated by decades of unregulated metal smelting², mining and fertiliser manufacturing. The clean-up bill could reach $1tn, by some estimates.

2014年发表的一项调查估计，中国20%的可耕地受到数十年不受监管的金属冶炼、采矿和化肥生产的污染。有人估计，清理费用可能高达1万亿美元。

While Beijing has promised to tackle soil pollution for some time, it originally planned to do so after addressing the more visible problems of air and water pollution. However, experts have realised that contamination leeching³ into the soil from abandoned industrial sites will continue to undermine water quality unless tackled at the same time.

尽管北京方面承诺治理土壤污染已有一段时间，但它原本计划在解决了空气污染和水污染等更加明显的问题后才采取行动。然而，专家们认识到，除非同时整治土壤污染，否则从废弃工业用地渗入土壤的污染将继续破坏水质。

Greenpeace soil pollution expert Ada Kong lauded⁴ the “pragmatic” proposal. “It’s not a realistic plan to have perfect soil in the country, but just to take steps to ensure the contamination won’t lead to major problems”.

绿色和平(Greenpeace)的土壤污染专家江卓珊(Ada Kong)称赞这一“务实”提案。“这个计划并非是让中国有完美的土壤，那是不现实的，而只是采取步骤，以确保污染不导致重大问题。”

A second, more detailed⁵ survey to pinpoint⁶ where the pollution hotspots lie and identify the worst sources is to be completed by 2018. That information was not in the publicly released version of the 2014 survey, which was based on soil samples collected evenly across the nation.

第二项更详尽的调查定于2018年完成，它将准确判断污染热点位置，并确定最糟糕的污染源。此类信息未包括在2014年调查的公开发布版本中，那项调查基于从全国各地均匀采集的土壤样本。

Chinese soil experts are divided over the best approach to soil pollution, ranging from the cheapest method of simply not growing edible⁷ crops on polluted land to the intensive digging, burning and disposal of contaminated soils from toxic⁸ urban industrial sites. Most experts are concerned that improper⁹ disposal and other shortcuts¹⁰ could simply spread the problem around. The plan did not specify¹¹ what methods would be used.

对于整治土壤污染的最佳方式，中国土壤专家意见分歧，从最廉价的方法，即只是不在污染土地上种植粮食作物，到密集挖掘、焚烧和处置有毒城市工业用地的污染土壤。多数专家担忧，不当处置和其它“走捷径”方式可能只会导致污染扩散。《土壤污染防治行动计划》没有具体说明将使用什么方法。

Ground pollution is a sensitive topic, with residential¹² neighbourhoods and villages often built in proximity¹³ to toxic sites. Local bureaucrats¹⁴ are reluctant to acknowledge the worst sites for fear of compensation claims by sick residents, destroying property values and ruining the market for their agricultural produce.

地面污染是一个敏感的话题，在中国，居民区和村庄往往靠近有毒地块。地方官员不愿意承认污染最严重的地方，生怕患病的居民提出赔偿要求，毁掉房地产价值和当地农产品的市场。

This year reports of nausea¹⁵ and nosebleeds among students at an elite¹⁶ school in Changzhou, an eastern industrial city, led to media revelations that the school’s new campus had been built next to an abandoned pesticides¹⁷ factory.

今年早些时候有报道称，华东工业城市常州的一所精英学校的学生们纷纷出现恶心和流鼻血等症状，随后媒体爆料称，该校新建校园的旁边是一家废弃的杀虫剂工厂。

The action plan includes better provisions for disclosing data on soil quality, including a national online platform. It calls for greater penalties for polluters and for mishandling of dangerous chemicals, a problem that grabbed international attention after an explosion at a chemicals warehouse¹⁸ wiped out an industrial and residential neighbourhood in the port city of Tianjin.

土壤污染防治行动计划》包括改进土壤质量数据披露，包括一个全国土壤环境信息化管理平台。《计划》要求对污染者和危险化学品处理不当者进行更严厉的处罚。去年港口城市天津的一个化学品仓库发生巨大爆炸，摧毁了一个工业区，重创旁边的住宅区，引发国际社会对危险化学品处理不当问题的关注。