Resumen de China graphite pollution fears spread to Heilongjiang

Albert Li, Shanghai Andrew. Miller

• Graphite production in Heilongjiang province has come under scrutiny following pollution complaints which could lead to restrictions in the world's leading flake graphite producing region.

  Graphite dust has contributed to severe air and water pollution in Luobei County and Jixi City, creating what is being described as'graphite rain'. This has sparked complaints from both residents and business owners, thrusting the province, which produced 43% of the world's 420,000 tpa flake graphite in 2012, into the spotlight.

  While recent government rulings have required companies in some areas to invest in more environmentally friendly processing infrastructure, the local government's failure to regulate Heilongjiang's graphite sector has caused resource depletion, an inefficient industrial structure and heavy pollution.