Opinion | Pollution threats stir delta residents to action
Following a series of pollution threats, residents could be in for a long battle for the environment
Pearl River Delta residents haven't had to worry too much about serious pollution threats, but that all changed this month.
Xu Qiaoyin , a teacher and native of Jiangmen , now living in Shenzhen, is among a growing number of delta region residents increasingly worried about toxic risks affecting what they call "our dear home".
"I would have thought that contamination was only the concern of the backward and developing hinterlands. And suddenly, overnight, we find all kinds of pollution on our doorstep," Xu said.
Xu's fears are not groundless as Guangdong residents see one pollution crisis after another affect the land they harvest, the air they breathe and the water they drink.
On July 6 the Hejiang River, a tributary of the Pearl River - a drinking source for the delta - was found to contain excessive amounts of heavy metals thallium and cadmium after a large number of fish died. Since then, the county government has warned the water utility and residents not to drink or catch fish from the river.
The news triggered fear among residents of several cities in the delta because the Hejiang River's source is in neighbouring Guangxi autonomous region and flows into the Xijiang River, a main artery of the Pearl River that provides most of the water for Zhuhai , Zhongshan , Guangzhou and Macau.
