Trends of environmental accidents and impact factors in China

doi:10.1007/s11783-010-0267-1

Front Envir Sci Eng Chin

0, Vol.

Issue () : 266-276 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-010-0267-1

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Trends of environmental accidents and impact factors in China

Pengli XUE, Weihua ZENG(

)

State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China

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Abstract

An overview of the spatial and temporal variations of the environmental accidents in China in recent years was presented in this paper using available data. The results showed that the frequency of pollution accidents was significantly decreased, from 3462 in 1990 to 462 in 2007. The water and air pollution accidents were found to be the dominant types, accounting for more than 80% of the total accidents. Considering the classification of environmental accidents at 4 scales, the general environmental accident, i.e., the least serious type, was the most frequent event, taking up 58.98% of the total pollution accidents. In addition, the distribution of environmental accidents was generally in accordance with the industrial layout in the country during the past decade. It is very important to note that the extraordinarily severe environmental accidents showed an increasing trend in underdeveloped regions, which was caused by the transfer and the development of heavy polluted industry in these areas. As to the losses of environmental accidents, the casualties presented an obvious reduction tendency, while the direct economic loss per accident tended to climb up. Furthermore, some key factors that affect the spatial and temporal tendencies of environmental accidents in China were discussed and some suggestions were put forward, hoping to shed light on environmental risk management and emergency plans making associated with environmental accidents in China.

Keywords environmental accidents spatial and temporal trends environmental risk

Corresponding Author(s): ZENG Weihua,Email:zengwh@bnu.edu.cn

Issue Date: 05 June 2011

Cite this article:

Weihua ZENG,Pengli XUE. Trends of environmental accidents and impact factors in China[J]. Front Envir Sci Eng Chin, 0, (): 266-276.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-010-0267-1
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y0/V/I/266

Fig.1 Variance number of environmental accidents from 1990 to 2007 in China

Fig.2 Proportion of different kinds of environmental accident from 1993 to 2007 in China

Fig.3 Proportion of different scale environmental accidents in China from 1993 to 2007

Fig.4 Provincial distribution of total environmental accidents in China from 1993 to 2007

Fig.5 Provincial distribution of environmental accidents in China in 1993, 1997, 2000, 2005 and 2007

Fig.6 Provincial distribution of extraordinarily severe accidents in China from 1993 to 2007

Fig.7 The trends of extraordinarily severe accidents in western China

Fig.8 The casualties and deaths caused by environmental accident from 1993 to 2007

Fig.9 Total direct economic loss and its proportions in different scale environmental accidents in China from 1993 to 2007

Tab.1 Pollution accident number and its direct economic loss in 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2007.

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