Northeast China's Liaoning Province announced that beginning July 1, it will ban the use and sale of all kinds of detergents containing phosphoric content, as part of local environmental efforts.
Liaoning will become the second province in China to impose such a ban following Shandong Province in east China.
The annual consumption of phosphoric washing products in the province stands at 100,000 tons, with 17,000 tons of phosphoric compound discharged into local waters each year, according to local officials.
Red tides were frequently detected in Liaoning's sea areas where the phosphoric content in the sea water is 10 to 15 times higher than the normal level.
One third of the phosphoric discharges in the sea come from human activities, which is one of the main factors causing the redtides, according to the officials.
In 1999, Dalian, a coastal city in Liaoning, became the first place to ban phosphoric washing products and in 2000, four other local cities launched the ban. Beginning July 1, all 14 cities in the province will ban the use and sale of the pollutant.
(eastday.com 06/24/2001)
