Disclose information of contaminated soil

The Ministry of Environmental Protection denied a request from a Beijing lawyer for information on national soil pollution on the basis that such disclosures were "State secrets".

Contaminated soil poses serious threats to the public's health. According to the Government Information Disclosure Regulation, government information that concerns the interests or health of citizens or organizations must be disclosed to the public.

The environmental authority is already late in dealing with the issue of contaminated soil, leaving people largely in the dark. There is no reason now for the environmental protection authority to hide relevant information from the public.

Covering up the truth about contaminated soil will continue to expose people to harm. It is believed that once the information is made public, many expensive real estate communities will become uninhabitable, causing a national dilemma.