BEIJING, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- A public opinion survey released here found that 60.7 percent of respondents were concerned about food safety, which the survey said was an indication that many citizens were worried about the impact of environmental pollution on the food supply.

    The survey, titled "2007 environmental protection and people's livelihood index," was conducted by the China Environmental Culture Promotion Association, which is affiliated with the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA). It had 9,011 respondents from 29 provinces and autonomous regions.

    Other specific concerns were the quality of painting materials for interior decoration, noted by 39.7 percent of respondents; airpollution, cited by 25.8 percent, and pollution from garment-making, mentioned by 41.8 percent.

    The survey also graded public environmental awareness, activities and attitudes. These were scored at 42.1, 36.6 and 44.7, respectively. The fact that the scores didn't even reach 60, or a C, was a sign of major problems with China's environmental consciousness, the association said.

    Pan Yue, the deputy director of SEPA, said that public involvement was the strongest force for environmental protection, which was a national necessity.

    Among other results of the survey:

    -- There was a marked shift in the past year in the perception of the seriousness of environmental problems, with 66.9 percent saying that environmental problems were very serious in China, up 3.9 percentage points from last year. Only 2.7 percent rated the environmental issue as being far from being serious, 5.3 percentage points lower, indicating sharply rising public concern over the issue, said the report.

    -- Despite rising concern over pollution, the public perception of individual action in environmental programs was that it largely made no difference. The survey found that 49.7 percent of people believed their involvement in environmental-protection campaigns wasn't indispensable. Only 2.8 percent thought it was very important and 13.7 percent rated it as merely fairly important, which showed a low public awareness of the issue.

    -- Water quality was a concern to many, with 32.3 percent expressing worry about water conditions in their cities generally, 20.7 percent saying they were concerned with water supplies in their immediate neighborhood or apartment, and 20 percent expressing dissatisfaction with water conditions in public facilities.

    -- Most respondents, or more than 80 percent, expressed satisfaction with the government's efforts to protect the environment. As to how much attention the government had devoted to environmental improvement, 64.4 percent of respondents believed the government has placed a high priority on environmental work --3.4 percent percentage points higher, compared with last year. Only 4.1 percent said the issue had become less important to the government.

    The survey, conducted annually since 2005, provides the only environmental-protection concerns index in China.