Pollution worsens in China's Yangtze River

The report, titled "Maintaining the Health of the Yangtze River and Developing a Harmonious Relationship between People and Water," said 27.5 percent of water-quality tests taken along the Yangtze and tributaries revealed the areas to be "very seriously polluted," China's official Xinhua news agency reported Monday. In 1998, 20 percent of the tests came back with the same reading.

"The major polluted stretches are located near cities along the river and its tributaries," the report said.

The report said 30 billion tons of polluted water were released into the river in 2005, a 50-percent increase over the number in 1998.

"We must take immediate actions to protect the water of the Yangtze River," said Cai Qihua, director of the commission.

He said the government has passed legislation to limit the amount of polluted water released into the river.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International