Water Pollution and Human Health in China

Water Pollution and Human Health in China 1. Introduction 2. Water Resources and Human Health 3. Rapid Industrialization 4. Urbanization 5. Intensification and Modernization of Agriculture 6. Interactions and Compounding Effects 7. Conclusions 8. Bibliography 1. Introduction In the last 40 years China has transformed itself from a rural economy to an industrial giant with a significant presence in the world economy. This rapid transformation has fueled economic growth that easily outpaces that of most developing countries. China's GDP growth averaged 9.3 percent per annum between 1980 and 1995. Unfortunately, China's rapid economic development has exerted a significant toll on its natural resource base, particularly water resources. Inadequate investments in basic water supply and treatment infrastructure have resulted in widespread water pollution. In China today approximately 700 million people--over half the population--consume drinking water contaminated with levels of animal and human waste that do not meet minimum drinking water quality standards. More than half of Chinese cities are experiencing severe water supply shortages. Official government statistics also record a steady increase in the total volume of wastewater produced. Growing from 29 billion tons in 1981 to 37 billion tons in 1995. By the year 2000, the volume of wastewater produced could double from 1990 levels to almost 78 billion tons. The full health impact of this industrialization and modernization process, and the associated water pollution, however, has yet to manifest itself. The health consequences that result from changes in environmental conditions only begin to appear in health and epidemiological records after a decade or two. This begs the question. What are the implications of China's severely polluted water resources and the current economic development model for public health? This report attempts to answer this question, and points to the importance of adequate investments in environmental management to avoid irreversible damages to China's most important resource: its people. 2. Water Resources and Human Health Water pollution affects human health in three primary ways. First, access to a minimum per capita amount of water is important to human health, both to ensure physical survival but also to safeguard hygiene. Second, water serves as a pathway for exposure to microbial and contagious diseases. Drinking or bathing