About 1,996 sets of low-income housing, built on land previously occupied by the Guangzhou Nitrogenous Fertilizer Factory, went on sale on Tuesday. The location was highlighted in 2008 for being given a notoriously high rating in terms of soil poisoning by environmental assessment organizations and soil experts.
Over 9,000 cubic meters of the poisoned soil within the former factory have been removed and properly disposed of to rid the area of organic pollution agents and heavy metals, according to the Guangdong Ecological Environment and Soil Research Institute.
The soil, polluted with heavy metals, is eligible for housing if dwellers refrain from drinking underground water and from eating vegetables growing in the ground, according to Wu Qigang, vice director of the Soil Environment Expertise Committee of the Soil Science Society of China.
However, Wu added that volatile organic compounds, which are produced during the production of nitrogenous fertilizer, could still be present and could potentially be harmful to residents. .
The factory stopped production in 2004, leaving large amounts of poisoned residue, containing heavy metals and organic pollution agents, in the soil.
Global Times