(Yicai Global) Jan. 22 -- Chinese authorities will use satellites, drones, unmanned ships, robots and other high-tech tools to thoroughly investigate pollution in Bohai Bay in the north of the country.

The environment ministry has launched a special campaign to combat the problem. "The initial results of the investigation are shocking," said spokesperson Liu Youbin in a press conference. The Bohai Rim region, one of the fastest-growing areas in China and home to key urban agglomerations the Liaodong peninsula, Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan and the Shandong peninsula, has become a constant victim of illegal sewage discharge.

This special campaign will use satellite remote sensing, drone-based imagery, unmanned ship monitoring, intelligent robots, and on-site verification by law enforcement to investigate the problem in-depth, Liu said.

Some 2.8 billion tons of sewage flow into the Bohai Sea each year, making up nearly one-third of the national total, according to public data. The pollutants mainly include inorganic nitrogen, inorganic phosphorus, petroleum and oxygen-consuming organics, as well as heavy metals. Nearly 800 hidden sewage outlets were found in Hebei province's Tangshan, the initial probe has found.

The investigation aims to reveal sewage outlets that have long been hidden and put them under administrative and public supervision, he added.

The inspection is expected to be complete by the end of this year, Liu revealed, adding that the ministry will also introduce similar campaigns in south China's Yangtze River area.

Editor: William Clegg