guardian...Public concern about the environment is growing thanks in part to severe air pollution in Beijing earlier this winter. Photograph: Ng Han Guan/AP
China's leading environmental watchdog has refused to disclose the results of a major national soil pollution study on grounds of state secrecy, according to a lawyer who requested the report's disclosure.
The news comes amid growing public concern about the impact of years of turbo-charged growth on the environment and people's health, thanks in large part to the winter's terrible air pollution in Beijing and other areas of the country.
Public awareness of the widespread problems is soaring. The groundwater of two-thirds of cities is severely polluted, according to official data, while two-fifths of rivers are tainted.
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