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Water pollutant fingerprinting tracks recent industrial transfer from coastal to inland China: a case study

  • Weiwei Zheng
    ,
  • Xia Wang
    ,
  • Dajun Tian
    ,
  • Songhui Jiang
    ,
  • Melvin E. Andersen
    ,
  • Genhsjeng He
Research Output: Contribution to journal Article Peer-review

Open access

Abstract

In recent years, China’s developed regions have transferred industries to undeveloped regions. Large numbers of unlicensed or unregistered enterprises are widespread in these undeveloped regions and they are subject to minimal regulation. Current methods for tracing industrial transfers in these areas, based on enterprise registration information or economic surveys, do not work. The authors have developed an analytical framework combining water fingerprinting and evolutionary analysis to trace the pollution transfer features between water sources. We collected samples in Eastern China (industrial export) and Central China (industrial acceptance) separately from two water systems. Based on the water pollutant fingerprints and evolutionary trees, we traced the pollution transfer associated with industrial transfer between the two areas. The results are consistent with four episodes of industrial transfers over the past decade. The results also show likely types of the transferred industries - electronics, plastics, and biomedicines - that contribute to the water pollution transfer.

Publication Information

Output type

Research Output: Contribution to journal Article Peer-review

Original language

English

Pages from-to (Number of pages)

Pages 1031

Journal (Volume, Issue Number)

Scientific Reports (Volume 3)

Publication milestones

  • Published - 01/01/2013

Publication status

Published - 01/01/2013

External Publication IDs

  • handle.net: 10547/293947
  • Scopus: 84872709971

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