New Draft of China’s First Soil Pollution Law Focuses on Farmland

China’s lawmakers are reviewing a new draft of what will be the country’s first law to address soil pollution left from decades of rapid industrialization.

People in China are becoming increasingly concerned with toxic pollution on land used for farming and housing.

In 2013, high levels of cadmium began showing up in samples of rice from the most important rice-growing regions such as Hunan province, which is also home to a large number of nonferrous metal producers. A similar incident came to light earlier this year in Henan province, but this time it was cadmium-laced wheat.

Cadmium and ...