The Chengcheng Chemical Co. Ltd., a sulfuric acid plant began illegally dumping arsenic contaminated waste water into the Dasha River’s in China’s Henan Province in late July of last year. The regulatory authorities discovered that the river was contaminated by arsenic on August 26, 2008, and began to take corrective action, including constructing a series of dams to contain the contaminated water and prevent its spread. The Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, at the Chinese Academy of Sciences got involved with a new treatment method for removing arsenic from drinking water which apparently proved successful.
Yesterday it was announced that “[t]hirteen officials of central China’s Henan Province have received penalties” as a result of the contamination.
Liu Gaili, former deputy head of the environmental protection bureau of Minquan County, Shangqiu City, was given two years imprisonment with a three-year reprieve by a local court, according to Liu Huisheng, spokesman with the Shangqiu Municipal Government.
Twelve other officials, including a deputy head of the county, were either sacked from their posts or given party or administrative punishment, said Liu.
The precise misfeasance of these regulatory officials was not reported.
In addition, the county’s procuratorate has “filed a lawsuit against the manager and the production chief of the chemical company over environmental pollution” and the company has been closed.
Why am I reporting on this story? To show that China’s environmental enforcement and remediation efforts can function relatively effectively. I suspect dysfunction is still the rule, and, yes, it would have been better had there been no illegal arsenic discharge in the first instance, but (if the press reports are to be believed) here we had:
- relatively quick discovery of the contamination and its source;
- closure of the source;
- fast action to stop the spread of the contamination and engage national experts to aid the (ultimately successful) remediation efforts;
- punishment of apparently negligent local regulatory officials; and
- a lawsuit against the polluter, that (I hope) will recover the costs of remediation and fines.
That’s the way it should work. Always look on the bright side on Monday morning!
1 response so far ↓
1 Ajigboye Oyeniyi Esq // Aug 12, 2009 at 2:18 am
This is the same point all over the world. It is a pointer to the next level of the solution we need in resolving World environmental problems. The case is no longer that there are no laws, the problem is how do we enforce the once we have. China is a nation with great technology, the environmental laws are good enough but just like in other countries, we pay lips service to what we say our laws are. That someone bags two years imprisonment for this is a positive action in the right direction. I encourage China to keep this up.
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