GENEVA - Chinese and Swiss scientists said Friday the Yangtze River is less polluted than expected, but only because the vast amounts of water dilute farm and Environmentalists warned the findings should not be seen as a clean bill of health for the Yangtze, where water quality has continually deteriorated. Because of its large size, the 3,900-mile-long Yangtze cannot be compared to other rivers, they said.
Around 25 billion tons of waste is poured every year into the Yangtze, the world's third-largest river, said a joint Chinese-Swiss expedition that analyzed the river's water quality.
"While the pollution level is enormous, the concentration of pollutants remains comparable with that of other rivers, given the dilution effect caused by the enormous rate of water flow," said a statement by the Swiss Agency for Development, which supported the expedition.