On May 24, in the abandoned courtyard next to Dawangwu Village, Donggaocun Town, Pinggu, the plastic film only covered a small part of the contaminated soil, and most of the soil was still exposed.

Tracking "Punch-smelling contaminated soil piled up next to a village in Pinggu"

Beijing News (Reporter Li Ning) In the past two months, there have been continuous dump trucks transporting contaminated soil to be repaired to the abandoned courtyard next to Dawangwu Village, Donggaocun Town, Pinggu, forming a pile of soil about 10 meters high and about the size of a football field, and emitting a pungent smell. Villagers are worried that the smell is harmful to the human body and also afraid of groundwater pollution. Yesterday, the relevant person in charge of Pinggu District said that at present, the transportation of contaminated soil to the village has been stopped, and the contaminated soil that has been transported will be taken away from the 29th of this month.

The contaminated land must be "disinfected" before it can be developed

The contaminated soil is piled in an abandoned courtyard southwest of Dawangwu Village, about 200 meters away from the nearest Dawangwu Village villagers' homes.

Several villagers in the village said that about two months ago, a large number of dump trucks began to transport contaminated soil here, and the village was filled with unpleasant pungent odors. The villagers went to the scene many times and asked the other party to stop transporting soil, but the other party stopped for more than 20 days and then continued to transport.

It is reported that the contaminated soil was transported from a chemical plant in Pinggu District. The enterprise mainly produces food additives, and volatile pollutants are produced during the production process, which pollute the soil and groundwater at the factory site.

In 2010, after the polluting enterprise was relocated, the land nature of the original site was changed from industrial land to residential land, and it was prepared for development. According to the requirements, the Pinggu District Government repaired the contaminated soil and groundwater under the plot, and repaired about 330,000 cubic meters of soil.

Where to move the contaminated soil is still under study

Yesterday, Li Ping, secretary of the Donggao Village Town Committee, said that due to opposition from villagers, the Pinggu District Government decided to stop transporting contaminated soil to Dawangwu Village after research. The soil that has been transported there is expected to be removed from the 29th of this month.

"We are still studying the plan now." Li Ping said that the abandoned compound was supposed to be the site for remediating the contaminated soil, and now the district government has decided to change the site for remediating the contaminated soil. "As for where to move it, we are still looking for a place. People are not willing to move it to other districts and counties."

Follow-up question

Why was the contaminated soil remediation site chosen near Dawangwu Village?

This is the only place in the district that meets the requirements

According to Li Ping, secretary of the Donggaocun Town Committee, when the chemical plant had not yet been relocated, residents in the surrounding area had repeatedly reported that the chemical plant produced some unpleasant odors. The district decided to move the enterprise first and then repair the underground contaminated soil and groundwater, "which was originally a good thing."

Why the contaminated soil that needs to be repaired was transported to the vicinity of Dawangwu Village has always been a concern of the villagers. In this regard, Li Ping explained that at present, there are very few places in Pinggu District that can be used to repair contaminated soil, "only Donggaocun Town has it, and this location is the abandoned compound next to Dawangwu Village."

"This time, we need to repair 330,000 cubic meters of contaminated soil, which requires a large site, and there is no such large place in the mountains." Li Ping said.

Wu Yajun, deputy director of the Pinggu District Environmental Protection Bureau, said that contaminated soil must not be placed next to scenic spots, ski resorts, etc. For the restoration of such a large area of contaminated soil, the site selection must consider factors such as geological conditions and a large enough storage area. Only this place meets these conditions. "Experts have also demonstrated this place and said it can be placed here."

"According to regulations, short-term restoration projects do not require environmental impact assessments." Wu Yajun said that the contaminated soil was placed next to Dawangwu Village, and no environmental impact assessment report was indeed made, "but we will regularly monitor the impact on the village."

Has the site selection been approved?

The address is clearly pointed out in the approved plan

Previously, the relevant person in charge of the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau said that the bureau had approved the restoration of contaminated soil, but the approval document did not clearly state that it should be placed next to Dawangwu.

Many villagers in the village understood that this was the relevant unit randomly piling the soil next to the village.

Yesterday, Wu Yajun, deputy director of the Pinggu District Environmental Protection Bureau, said that before construction, the plan was indeed approved, and the approval document clearly pointed out an abandoned compound next to Dawangwu Village, "which is the location where the contaminated soil is now placed."

"The Municipal (Environmental Protection) Bureau approved three documents, and the District Environmental Protection Bureau approved one." Wu Yajun said that the documents approved by the Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau were the environmental impact assessment report of the contaminated site, the technical plan for the remediation of contaminated soil, and the implementation plan for the remediation of contaminated soil. In the specific implementation plan, this place was clearly mentioned.

Wu Yajun said that before approval, they had hired professional teams and experts to demonstrate these plans, "all factors such as environmental impact were taken into consideration, and the approval procedures were all complete and legal."

Yesterday, the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau did not respond further to this matter.

How to repair the land of polluted enterprises?

When an enterprise relocates, the construction unit needs to entrust a qualified unit to evaluate the land, that is, conduct a site environmental survey. If the raw materials used in the production process of an enterprise's products contain toxic and hazardous chemicals, an in-depth analysis of the approximate scope and degree of soil contamination is required.

Through preliminary and detailed sampling and analysis, a conclusion is drawn as to whether risk assessment or remediation is needed, and a site environmental survey report is prepared, which includes recommendations for land remediation and a risk assessment report.

Risk assessment includes hazard identification, exposure assessment, toxicity assessment, etc. Through the information and data of the site environmental survey, the migration of pollutants of concern within the site and the possibility of their harm to sensitive receptors are analyzed, and a risk assessment report is finally obtained.

The construction unit submits the site environmental survey and risk assessment report to the environmental protection department, which reviews and approves the assessment plan for land remediation.

For soil remediation, the same technology can be divided into in-situ and ex-situ remediation according to the different locations of its treatment.

The ex-situ remediation site and the protective distance from residential areas are determined based on the environmental impact assessment of a qualified institution, and the soil must also be remediated by a unit specializing in contaminated soil remediation.

After the restoration is completed, the environmental protection department will conduct an engineering acceptance and retrospective evaluation of the restoration, that is, the land developer will entrust a qualified unit to conduct an environmental impact assessment of the site, evaluate the impact of the site on groundwater, ambient air and other environments after the restoration, and further demonstrate the environmental suitability.

Note: The environmental protection department will supervise the process of site assessment, risk assessment, soil or groundwater restoration, and acceptance.

Viewpoint

"Soil restoration sites should undergo environmental impact assessment"

Environmental impact assessment experts believe that the protective distance between soil restoration sites and residential areas should be determined based on specific environmental impact assessments

Beijing News reporters learned that the soil pile is about 200 meters away from the nearest Dawangwu villagers' homes. The site selection has been demonstrated by experts, but has not undergone an environmental impact assessment.

In this regard, Peng Yingdeng, an environmental assessment expert and member of the Urban Environmental Management Expert Group of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, believes that from the spirit of the Environmental Protection Law and the Environmental Impact Assessment Law, any project or behavior for urban development and construction, whether long-term or short-term, must pass an environmental assessment. "Whether the distance of 200 meters has an impact on the villagers, I think it must be subject to an environmental assessment." He gave an example, saying that the construction of film and television shooting locations must undergo an environmental assessment, not to mention the remediation of contaminated soil.

Peng Yingdeng said that the protective distance between the soil remediation site and the residential area should be determined based on the specific environmental impact assessment. Soil pollution mainly includes heavy metal pollution, persistent organic pollution, etc., and the degree and method of impact on the surrounding people are different. If the site has been demonstrated by experts and approved by the Environmental Protection Bureau, then it is legal in terms of procedure. But there is a problem worthy of attention, that is, if the soil affects the breathing of the people, it means that the soil is not covered or sealed, "which is obviously not in compliance with regulations."

He introduced that the contaminated soil must be covered during transportation and storage, and cannot be exposed to the outside to cause secondary pollution. In other words, environmental regulations were not followed during the actual operation, and both the repairing company and the environmental protection department are responsible.

In addition, Peng Yingdeng believes that Pinggu is the last groundwater source in Beijing that is not completely polluted. If the contaminated soil is not properly disposed of, it will endanger the groundwater, which will become a big problem. For the remediation of the contaminated soil there, whether it can be harmlessly treated, the subsequent supervision cannot be relaxed.

Beijing News reporter Deng Qi

In the process of soil remediation, government supervision and technical guidance are indispensable, and it is also necessary to strengthen the guidance of land remediation policies and economic environment. How to guide the remediation of soil sites by formulating fiscal and taxation policies and stimulus policies needs to be studied. --Peng Yingdeng

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