Xinhua News Agency, Wuhan, September 6 -
Question: Why Yangtze River near gush "milk water"?
Central Environmental Inspector Swords Point of Phosphorus Pollution in Hubei
Xinhua News Agency "Xinhua Viewpoint" reporters Shu Jing and Tian Zhongquan
In Huanggang City, Hubei Province, 2.5 kilometers away from the Yangtze River, a phosphogypsum reservoir equivalent to 80 football fields leaked. The water body was polluted, and the total phosphorus concentration exceeded 3474 times the standard. The masses complained.
Recently, the third central ecological and environmental protection inspection team in Hubei discovered that Hubei Province is not doing enough to promote the comprehensive utilization of phosphogypsum resources, and the environmental pollution problem of phosphorus chemical enterprises in some cities is still outstanding.
The inspector pointed out that the annual output of solid waste phosphogypsum produced by phosphorous chemical enterprises in Hubei Province ranks first in the country. Due to insufficient comprehensive utilization of resources, by the end of 2020, the stock of phosphogypsum has reached 296 million tons.
There are 37 phosphogypsum reservoirs in the province, of which 18 are less than 5 kilometers away from the mainstream of the Yangtze River and Han River, and the nearest one is only 50 meters away from the Yangtze River.
A large amount of phosphogypsum piled up poses a greater risk to the safety of the water environment of the Yangtze River.
When it rains, it is "milk water": the total phosphorus concentration exceeds 3474 times the standard
Inspectors discovered through drone aerial photography that there was a milky-white water strip near the spring of Daquandong, Meifu Community, Wuxue City, Huanggang City, Hubei Province.
The milky-white color of the water is due to leakage from the Lunjingtang Phosphogypsum Reservoir of Hubei Xiangyun (Group) Chemical Co., Ltd., which caused pollution.
Phosphogypsum is an industrial waste that contains undecomposed phosphate rock, free phosphoric acid, fluoride and other impurities, and a large amount of it will bring environmental safety risks.
The phosphogypsum library discovered by the inspector covers an area of over 800 acres, about the size of 80 football fields, and is only 2.5 kilometers away from the Yangtze River.
A few days ago, inspectors came to the leakage point and found white powdery objects attached to plants near the water, like a layer of frost.
After monitoring, the concentrations of ammonia nitrogen and total phosphorus in Daquandong water samples exceeded the surface water level III standards by 26.1 times and 3,474 times, respectively.
Experts said that excessive concentrations of total phosphorus will lead to eutrophication of water bodies, making it difficult for fish to survive.
In addition, phosphorus can also cause harm to the human body, causing various skin inflammations, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches and even poisoning.
Inspectors found in the waters near Dongfeng Port downstream, many fish were dying and some had their belly upturned.
Sampling and monitoring of river water 500 meters downstream also found that the concentrations of ammonia nitrogen and total phosphorus were 10.7 times and 574 times higher than the surface water level III standards, respectively, and the pollution was serious.
The polluted Daquandong spring was previously the source of water for the living and production of the surrounding people.
The reporter visited and learned that the villagers complained about water pollution.
A villager in Meifu Community pointed to the stream in front of the house and said that the water here used to wash clothes, wash vegetables, and irrigate.
When it rains heavily, "milk water" comes out.
Another villager also said that Daquan Cave is very popular in the local area. It is warm in winter and cool in summer. There are fish and shrimps. When I was young, the spring water can be drunk directly.
In addition, the inspector also discovered that some phosphorus chemical companies in Xiaogan had problems with direct discharge and stealth discharge.
The bright red waste water gurgled out and ran into the Dayan River indiscriminately.
This is the scene discovered by the inspection team in the Huangmailing Phosphorus Chemical Co., Ltd. in Hubei Province.
The investigation found that this was caused by the leakage of the chemical dyes used in production in the factory area, which was directly drained through the gutter.
After monitoring, the sewage chromaticity (dilution multiple) is as high as 128 times.
The company also secretly discharged sewage through gully.
After monitoring, the concentrations of total phosphorus, ammonia nitrogen, and fluoride were 1,214, 55.7, and 322 times higher than the surface water level III standards, respectively.
The sewage was discharged into the Dayan River and then merged into the Ying River, causing the Yujiapo State-controlled section 10 kilometers downstream to fail to meet the standard stably.
Behind the leakage: site selection and stacking problems, low comprehensive utilization rate
This is not the first time that Lunjingtang phosphogypsum storage has leaked.
Soon after the library was completed and put into operation in 2018, there was a leak.
Many reports show that the phosphogypsum storage has frequent leakage accidents.
Since then, Xiangyun has adopted a series of rectification measures, but the leakage problem has not been solved fundamentally, and the pollution remains.
A meeting minutes of the expert diagnosis meeting on the environmental problems of the Xiangyun Wheel Jingtang slag field on January 6, 2020 showed that an expert once said at the time that no environmental pollution accident should occur in the tailings reservoir within 3 kilometers of the main stream of the Yangtze River. It must be raised to a high degree of enterprise life and death.
So, why does the phosphogypsum storage continue to leak?
An expert from Wuhan Jianghan Design Institute believes that the stability of the foundation of the reservoir is poor and there is a risk of cracking of the impermeable membrane.
Combined with the geological conditions, this reservoir "is unlikely to leak, the amount of mud accumulates to a certain extent, and the risk of collapse caused by leakage is high."
In addition to the site selection, construction and stacking problems, the deeper reason is that the comprehensive utilization rate of phosphogypsum resources is not high.
And this is also one of the key issues of this inspector.
On August 29, the inspectors came to Xiangyun Company in Huanggang to retrieve its original ledger information on comprehensive utilization.
After more than one hour of accounting, the inspectors verified that the comprehensive utilization rate of phosphogypsum in 2019 and 2020 was 0 and 6.6% respectively, which was significantly different from the materials provided.
The inspector found that the relevant departments have unclear numbers and circumstances in the comprehensive utilization of phosphogypsum.
During the inspection team stationed in, the Hubei Provincial Department of Economics and Information Technology twice provided the comprehensive utilization of phosphogypsum.
Among the materials provided for the first time, the comprehensive utilization rate of phosphogypsum in Huanggang City in 2019 and 2020 was 35.89% and 49.74%, respectively. In the materials provided for the second time, the above two data were changed to 6.56% and 12.17%. big different.
The inspector believes that the relevant provincial departments are not in place in the overall planning and deployment of the comprehensive utilization of phosphogypsum resources in the province, and the promotion of the comprehensive utilization of phosphogypsum is not effective.
The Hubei Provincial Department of Economics and Information Technology has so far not issued relevant encouragement policies, has not prepared a special plan for the comprehensive utilization of phosphogypsum as required, or has specified clear requirements for the comprehensive utilization of phosphogypsum in the relevant plans, and has not assigned specific tasks to relevant cities.
Great attention must be paid to the outstanding problem of total phosphorus pollution in the Yangtze River Basin
During the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" period, with the rise of total phosphorus as the primary pollution factor in the Yangtze River Basin, regional environmental pollution caused by the "three phosphorus" has attracted increasing attention.
The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment once pointed out in 2019 that the total phosphorus pollution problem in the Yangtze River Basin is prominent.
A large amount of phosphogypsum has not only encroached on land resources, but the water-soluble phosphorus pentoxide and water-soluble fluorine contained in it also pose a greater risk to the water environment of the Yangtze River.
In fact, Hubei Province’s first round of central ecological and environmental protection inspections and the "Looking Back" rectification plan required a comprehensive investigation of the phosphorus chemical industry, and insisted on combining the rectification of issues on the list with those outside the list.
In April 2020, the "Looking Back" rectification report reported by Hubei Province stated that the investigation and management of hidden hazards along the river phosphogypsum slag and tailings ponds have been strengthened, and the phosphogypsum problems have been effectively rectified, and there are no new problems.
However, the inspector found that Hubei Province is not doing enough to promote the comprehensive utilization of phosphogypsum resources, and the environmental pollution problems of phosphorus chemical enterprises in some cities are still outstanding.
In view of the leakage of the phosphogypsum reservoir in Lunjingtang, experts believe that in the long run, wet-drained dry reactors should be selected, and the sewage entering the reservoir should be treated first to prevent the concentration from rising, and secondly, the phosphogypsum secondary filtration should be considered to realize the reduction of reactors. live.
Industry insiders believe that, in the longer term, the treatment of "three phosphorus" pollution requires a combination of punches on the basis of finding out the family background, strengthening source reduction, end treatment and comprehensive utilization: first, accurate accounting, and production based on usage; The second is to promote the formation of an industrial chain for comprehensive utilization of resources; the third is to innovate technologies, formulate relevant product and engineering application standards, and promote the green development of the phosphorus chemical industry chain in the Yangtze River Economic Zone.