The overall environmental situation remains "serious", with frequent pollution accidents affecting the quality of life for many people, a report released yesterday by the environment watchdog said.

Investment in pollution control hit a record 256.78 billion yuan (US$34.2 billion) last year, up 7.5 percent on 2005 and about 1.23 percent of the country's annual GDP, the report from the State Environment Protection Administration (SEPA), said.

However, despite the increase, "China is under increasing pressure to cope with environmental pollution", it said.

The report, which provides an overview of the country's environmental status, said 842 pollution accidents were reported last year, including 482 water-related cases, 232 air cases, 45 cases involving solid waste, 10 related to the ocean and six to do with noise and vibration damage.

Discharges of sulfur dioxide reached almost 26 million tons in the year, up 1.5 percent on 2005, the report said.

A total of 53.68 billion tons of wastewater were discharged, up 2.3 percent on the previous year. Discharges of industrial wastewater were down 1.1 percent, but domestic sewage discharges rose 5.8 percent year on year.

(Xinhua News Agency September 25, 2007)