Researchon Legal System Of Soil Contamination Prevention And Control

With the rapid economic development in our country, the heavy metal soil contamination problemhas become serious. The mounting worsening situation of the heavy metal soil contaminationproblem has become a huge barrier for the industrial and agricultural sustainable development,posed a severe challenge for economic construction and social development and threatened the lifeand health of the civil citizens in our country to a severe extent. Statistics show that the arable landarea affected by heavy metal as Cadmium, Arsenic, Chromium, Lead has nearly up to20millionhm2, which takes20percent of the total arable land area. The industrial "Three Waste" hascontaminated the arable land area for10million hm2and the sewage-irrigated cropland area hasreached3.3million hm2. Besides the arable land contamination, there also existing the heavy metalcontamination problem in industrial and mining areas and cities. During the "Eleventh Five-Year",the heavy metal contamination problem has stands out as a significant environmental issue.Statistics by Ministry of Environmental Protection show that the12cases of heavy metalcontamination and metal-like contamination in the year2009has led to the excessive blood Load in4035person, excessive Cadmium in182person, and has resulted in32times of mass events. In theyear2011, the opening year for the Twelfth Five-Year, the Cadmium rice event has concerned thepublic. As is said by an expert for pollution prevention and control, the food security under thesituation of heavy metal contamination has become precedently severe."No matter for the Lead inthe air, or the Cadmium and Arsenic in sewage, their final destination is field after the gradualsedimentation. After contaminating the field, the contaminator will enter the plants through theabsorption process. The terminal of this food chain is the human body ". Ministry of Land andResources have publicly stated that there are12million tons of food is being contaminated byheavy metal. Compared with other environmental pollution, the heavy metal soil contamination ismore concealing and lagging. Even in Japan, where the technique and finance is no longer lacked,the task of contaminated soil remediation is not fulfilled yet.The first national-level special planning in the Twelfth Five-Year has laid focus on acomparatively smaller but significant area--heavy metal contamination prevention and control.Recently, Department of Environmental Protection announced that12th Five-Year Planning forheavy metal contamination prevention and control.(Hereinafter referred to as the "Planning") hasofficially approved by the State Council. The "Planning" proposes that the emission of heavy metalcontaminator as Lead, Mercury, Chromium, Cadmium and metal-like Arsenic in significant zonesshould have cut by15percent than2007by the year2015. The key industries for prevention and control should lay on five industries as Mining, Smelting, Lead-acid batteries, Leather and leatherproducts, Chemical raw materials and their products. It is also known that the Department ofEnvironment Protection would concentrate on beating illegal businesses and illegal sewagebehavior in lead-acid battery industry, targeting on the high trend of children blood lead poisoningcases. The severe current situation of heavy metal soil contamination is urging us to take effectivemeasures for prevention and control. It is universally acknowledged in modern society that toprotect the soil resources with legal measures. Having taught by the painful lessons of heavy metalsoil contamination, developed countries as USA and Japan have established laws positively toconfront diversified heavy metal soil contamination problem. After many years of practice, manydeveloped countries have established comparatively well-developed legal system for heavy metalsoil contamination prevention and control. But there is not only no specific law for heavy metal soilcontamination in our country, but also only sparse provisions in such laws and regulations as"Environmental Protection Law","Solid Waste Pollution Prevention Law","Agriculture Law, LandManagement Law" and "Basic Farmland Protection Ordinance". The current laws in our countryhave just made principle provisions about heavy metal soil contamination prevention andcontrol,but no clear provisions for how to prevent the soil from heavy metal contamination, and theprovisions about legal liabilities is also in lack.With this kind of background, circled with features of heavy metal soil contamination, causesand the current situation in our country, this text expands the discussion with the logical order asraising the question, relevant theoretical basis, legislation and comparison in countries, as well asthe vision for establishing relevant system in our country. Such research approach as comparison forresearch, conclusion and literature review are employed and the discussion of heavy metal soilcontamination issue is expanded from the perspective of law, combining the national situation inour country. Firstly, it gives introduction of the current situation, hazards, features of heavy metalsoil contamination prevention and control, as well as the urgency and necessity for heavy metal soilcontamination prevention and control. Secondly, it summaries the advanced managementexperience abroad with the comparison of legislative modes for soil contamination prevention andcontrol home and abroad. Thirdly, it proposes some specific advice from the perspective ofprevention and control, on the basis of borrowing successful legislation from some advancedcountries and proposes boldly and superficially some frame conception for heavy metal soilcontamination prevention and control.