The city of Wanzhou has successfully completed one of the most troubling aspects of the Three Gorges cleanup campaign: clearing away radioactive waste from the bottom of the future reservoir, the Wanzhou Daily (Wanzhou Ribao) reports.

“Without appropriate disposal, this hazardous waste could bring huge harm not only to the environment in the reservoir area, but also to the health of the displaced population once the reservoir is filled next June,” the newspaper said in its June 19 report. It provided no further details about the exact nature of the radioactive material involved.

The report said three local businesses have sent radioactive material to the Management and Supervision Centre for Radioactive Environmental Monitoring of Sichuan Province for safe storage: the Wanzhou Tianyuan Building Materials Enterprise, the Tiancheng Materials Factory and the Chongqing Suote Ltd. The Wanzhou environmental protection bureau has declared the local cleanup of nuclear waste complete, the newspaper said.

Wanzhou authorities have now launched a campaign to relocate or preserve 9,394 graves in their jurisdiction that must be dealt with before the reservoir is filled to the 135-metre level next year, the newspaper said in a report on July 12. Public-health and epidemic-prevention officials have been called on to supervise the work and provide technical assistance.

For graves up to 15 years old, families have until August 12 to dig up the corpses or coffins of loved ones and rebury them above the 177-metre level, the newspaper said. Graves still unclaimed by that date will fall into a “non-owner” category and will be moved by local authorities.

The original graves must be left open so that the earth can be exposed to sunlight before it is disinfected with chemicals and then tightly packed back into the grave.

The graves of people who died more than 15 years ago do not have to be moved, the newspaper said. But the earth around those graves must be tightly compacted to ensure water quality in the future reservoir is not harmed.

Meanwhile, plans are coming together for a campaign to exterminate rats and mice that could spread as many as 200 diseases in the future reservoir area, the Chongqing Morning Post (Chongqing Chenbao) reported on July 8.

Rodents must be removed from more than 53,900 “main areas” — or 15 million square metres of land — in the reservoir area, according to public health officials in Chongqing. Experts from around the country met recently and decided to use a new rat poison that has been deemed harmless to human health. An estimated 100 tonnes of the poison will be needed to get the job done, the newspaper said.

The poison will be mixed with bait and spread in the infested areas. Later, special teams will be dispatched to collect and burn the rodent corpses.

Chongqing authorities had originally planned to conduct a massive rodent-killing campaign this December, in advance of the spring breeding season. But the central government has decided a second campaign must also be scheduled for next May, a month before the reservoir is filled.

For more on these issues, see:

“Radioactive debris, diseased rats, anthrax and E. coli,” February 8, 2002.

“Reservoir cleanup ‘risks overlooking radioactive waste‘,” February 4, 2002