Pollution of Amur River

Problems

• River pollution

  The Amur River is one of the longest and largest rivers in the world, flowing through Russia, China, and Mongolia. It is also one of the most polluted rivers, with various sources of contamination affecting its water quality and ecosystem.

• Cause of pollution in the Amur River

  The main cause of pollution in the Amur River is China's industrial development and expansion, especially along the Songhua/Sungari River, a major Amur tributary. The Songhua/Sungari River carries many industrial effluent, mining wastes, heavy metals, and synthetic chemicals from factories, farms, and urban areas into the Amur River.
  
  The Amur is most heavily polluted in its lower reaches. It becomes a collector, storage, and transmitter of pollutants discharged from the upper basin areas, especially from the middle transboundary part of the Amur. Most contaminants in Middle-Amur water come from the Sungari River basin, which entirely belongs to China, and from the Ussuri River basin, which is shared by Russia and China. 
  
  The spectrum of pollutants is shocking: heavy metals, phosphorus, nitrogen, nitrates, nitrites, benzene, nitrobenzene, chlorine-containing, and polyaromatic compounds, to name a few. They contaminate Amur water and water organisms, accumulate in bottom sediments, and are discharged into the Tatar Strait, Okhotsk, and Japan seas. Primary pollution often causes secondary pollution, and fish caught here in winter is dangerous to eat.
  
  One of the most notorious pollution incidents in the Amur River was the accident at a petrochemical plant in Jilin City, China, in November 2005. The explosion at the plant released about 100 tons of benzene and other toxic substances into the Songhua/Sungari River, creating an 80-km-long slick that reached the Amur River in December 2005. 
  
  The spill caused widespread panic and anger among the residents of both China and Russia, who rely on the river for drinking water, irrigation, and fishing. The spill also damaged the aquatic life and habitats in the river basin.
  
  Agricultural practices on both sides of the border have also exacerbated the pollution of the Amur River. Using chemical fertilizers and pesticides has resulted in nutrient enrichment and eutrophication of the water, leading to algal blooms, oxygen depletion, and fish kills. The runoff from agricultural lands also carries pathogens, antibiotics, hormones, and other organic pollutants into the river.