The State Environmental Protection Administration (sepa) of China has reported that almost half of the country's chemical factories pose serious environmental risks. Following an environmental risk assessment of over 7,500 chemical and petro-chemical units, sepa concluded that 81 per cent of the plants are located on the bank of rivers, lakes or in densely populated areas. "Such geographical distribution is the main reason behind soaring water pollution accidents since last year," said the deputy director of sepa. sepa has now ordered 3,745 plants to step up safety measures and 49 to relocate to reduce the risk of environmental damage.
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