China's first disposal center for dangerous and harmful waste was put into operation Monday in north China's port city Tianjin.  

The site was built at a cost of 130 million yuan (US$15.9 million), with annual disposal capacity of 37,000 tons. By incinerating, burying and other physical chemical treatment, it can deal with dangerous waste from factories, hospitals as well as harmful chemical wastes, officials of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) said.

According to figures released by SEPA, China produces some 9 million tons of dangerous wastes every year, but its annual disposal capacity is only 3 million. To date, about 20 million tons have been put in temporary storage, which poses a great threat to the environment.

The central government has decided to spend over 20 billion yuan (US$2.4 billion) to completely solve the problem during the 10th Five-Year Plan period (2001-2005).

(Xinhua News Agency September 1, 2003)