Inshore sea areas near the east coast of China are severely polluted, according to the newly released 2003 China Ocean Environment Quality Report.

The worst pollution was found in the outlets of the Yalu River, Liaodong Bay, Bohai Bay, Yangtze River, Hangzhou Bay and the Zhujiang River. According to the report, 27 percent of the water quality is substandard in the Bohai sea with inorganic nitrogen, active phosphate and lead, as the main pollutants.

Dalian Bay, Jinzhou Bay and the Zhujiang River outlet are plagued with severe sediment pollution. The clams from some sea areas contain excessive amounts of lead, cadmium, arsenic, DDT and coliform bacteria.

The National Ocean Bureau closely monitors 20 river outlets, which carry an average of 880 million tons of polluted water into the ocean with approximately 1.28 million tons of pollutants. The dangerously polluted waters in these outlets even lack plant and animal life.

Translated from the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times