A heavily polluted river. (Sound of Hope Network)

Heavy metal pollution from the manufacture of computer products from well-known companies is contributing to severe environmental pollution, according to a report by 34 environmental organizations in China.

The document, 2010 Investigative Report on Heavy Metal Pollution Incurred by Suppliers of Renowned IT Brands, was released on May 26. The report underscores the Chinese regime’s failure to adequately monitor the situation.

The environment groups found that in areas like the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta, major manufacturing hubs, companies producing printed circuit boards were contributing to serious heavy metal pollution in local rivers, soil and coastal waters.

Printed circuit boards are an essential electronic component for IT products. The production process discharges waste metals, including lead, copper, nickel, chromium, as well as others.

Many other industries in China also discharge waste from heavy metals, including those associated with mining, metal smelting, chemical engineering, printing, dyeing, leather processing, pesticides, and fodder.

Environmental expert Mr. Li Li from Enviro-Friends Science and Technology Research Center said that the world’s leading IT brands have all adopted strategies for production outsourcing, and their electronic components often come from suppliers in China.

These IT enterprises obtain large amounts of low-cost products, while leaving the pollution behind. Local government tends to ignore the problem, preoccupied with pursuing GDP growth without regard for environmental costs.

Li explained further that many common parts for IT companies produce serious pollutants during the production process. Because large enterprises have a demand for parts, many small firms popped up to meet their needs. Li emphasized that “[the pollutants] are also the large enterprises’ social responsibility, if those small firms contribute to pollution, no matter how good their products are.”

Mr. Zhang of Greenpeace said that many companies that pollute are suppliers for well-known corporations, yet many corporations have ignored the report.

He said that although these multinational companies all release their environmental-related data in accordance with the laws of their corresponding countries, they fail to do so in China.

According to Zhang, currently the law in China stipulates that a company needs to release their waste discharge information within three months after the company has been cited by the environmental department for pollution violations over the threshold level. However, investigative measures confirm that “those companies did not follow the ‘Measures on Open Environmental Information (On Trial)’,” Zhang said. He added that since the law was introduced as recently as May 1, 2008, that may be the reason that not enough attention has been paid to it.

Mr. Zhang also pointed out that the law explicitly provided that local environmental protection departments have the duty of monitoring companies that pollute, and can impose fines to deter them from polluting. However, investigative measures have indicated that this aspect of their responsibilities has not been adequately pursued.

Mr. Zhang also pointed out that some clauses in the “Measures” are not very clear. There is no clear definition for what a serious polluting company is. It provides a clear definition on what exceeds the stipulated standard, however serious contamination is not an indicator that can be quantified.

“After we wrote the report, we suggested to relevant government departments that they should offer a more detailed explanation as soon as possible,” said Zhang.

Zhang Boju from Friends of Nature said that the media exposed many major heavy metal pollution infractions last year, which shocked the public. He emphasized that public monitoring, even in as circumscribed a communication environment as contemporary China, did have a positive effect in helping to curtail heavy metal pollution infractions.

After the publication of the report, the 34 environmental organizations, including the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs and Friends of Nature, a joint letter was sent to the CEOs of 29 well-known IT companies, urging them to take on more responsibility for environmental protection, and review their suppliers. Twenty of them have responded so far, but to date, Nokia, Alcatel-Lucent, Siemens, and Apple have failed to do so.

Read the original Chinese article.