Chemical plant responsible for river pollution in east China shut down
22/6/2007 16:19
A chemical plant in east China's Anhui Province has been shut down
after it discharged a toxic chemical into a river and sickened 61 villagers on
Tuesday, the local government said. By Friday, two of the villagers were
still in hospital with serious skin inflammations, said a spokesman with the
government of Qimen County in Huangshan, a city named after the Yellow Mountain,
a major tourist attraction in Anhui Province. Test results from the
provincial environmental protection agency showed the county's Jindong River had
been contaminated by dimethylamine, or DMA, a toxic chemical used in rocket fuel
and pesticides. Boda Chemical Co, a private company based in Qimen County,
admitted its workers had mistakenly discharged the chemical into the
river. The plant was shut down for a major overhaul yesterday. An oil
spill and dead fish appeared in a section of the Jindong River as it flowed past
Sanlijie Street on Tuesday morning. Hours later, local residents who had washed
their clothes in the river or collected the dead fish began to feel an itchy,
burning sensation on their skin. Altogether 61 people sought medical
intervention and nine of them were hospitalized. On receiving the report, the
county government promised to cover all their medical expenses and warned
residents to stay away from the river. The county's industry and commerce,
health and food and drug administrations sent a joint investigation team to tour
markets and restaurants, preventing locals from eating the contaminated fish.
Xinhua
|