Cadmium Contamination Raises Concerns

Heavy cadmium pollution in the southern Guangxi Province has provoked an outcry from Chinese academics and activists, who say the incident highlights the need for greater government transparency and better water management. 

Cadmium levels in the Longjiang River were 80 times the legal limit in the last few weeks, although government officials say they have now brought the contamination down to five times the standard. News of the pollution sent residents in Liuzhou, a city of 1.5 million residents whose drinking water is connected with the Longjiang River, into a bottled water-hoarding frenzy.