AN external source has been blamed for the stink that has been troubling Shekou residents for the past few weeks, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported yesterday, citing environmental experts.

Three environmental experts said at a meeting organized by the Nanshan District Environmental Protection and Water Resources Bureau that the stink that had spread over 30 square kilometers was caused by contamination from an external source.

The experts drew their conclusion by referring to information such as complaint time, community distribution, the level of affected buildings, the pollution area, weather conditions and air monitor data.

To further locate the source of the pollution, the team has offered two suggestions: send environment watchdogs to set up monitoring points on the shore of Shekou’s fishing harbor and install 24-hour wired odor-sniffing surveillance equipment in the representative areas of Shekou.

The bureau designated monitoring points in the Shenzhen Bay area, Taizi Bay Cruise Port and the Peninsula housing estate. In the meantime, the bureau has ordered related organizations to remedy the issues that were found during the previous inspections, such as the stink emitted by corn waste in the waste area and the smell near the dock. The authority has also doubled its inspection and surveillance efforts and is analyzing the samples of the stink it has collected.

Residents in the Nanhai Rose Garden estate first complained about the bad smell from the seawater on rainy days early this month.

(Lei Kaibin)