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Protest shuts solar plant
By Wang Yanlin |
September 19, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A SOLAR panel manufacturing plant in Zhejiang Province has been ordered to suspend production and deal with the pollution it caused after more than 500 protesters gathered outside the plant.
The local government in Haining held New York-listed Jinko Solar Holding Co Ltd responsible for discharging toxic water that killed large numbers of fish.
But it also said rumors that dozens of people in Hongxiao village had contracted cancers, including leukemia, because of the firm are false. A man has been detained for spreading the rumors on the Internet.
Haining officials said there were four cancer patients in the area last year and two this year. It was rumored that 31 villagers had contracted cancers and six of them had leukemia.
Because of the rumors, more than 500 villagers went to the factory on Thursday night demanding an explanation, the Haining government said in a statement. Some protesters charged into the factory compound, overturning eight company vehicles and destroying its offices, the government said. On Friday, four police vehicles were damaged.
Video footage posted on the city government's information office website showed the factory's smashed windows and dozens of police deployed to the site.
The factory's waste disposal system has been failing pollution tests since April and despite warning from authorities, the plant had not effectively controlled the pollution, Xinhua news agency cited Chen Hongming, deputy head of Haining's environmental protection bureau, as saying.
Toxic waste from the plant, which manufactures photovoltaic panels, cells and wafers, contained excessive fluorine.
A 64-year-old Hongxiao villager surnamed Shi told The Associated Press not only did the factory discharge waste water into a river, it also spewed dense smoke out of a dozen chimneys.
"An elementary school and a kindergarten are located less than a kilometer from the plant. My house is only about 500 meters from the plant. Many fish died after the factory discharged waste into a small river," Shi said.
"The villagers strongly request that this factory be moved to another area. I am very worried about the health of the younger generation," he said.
A number of people suspected of theft and vandalism during the protest have been caught by police.
The incident was the latest major environmental protest in China.
Last month, 12,000 residents in the northeastern city of Dalian protested after storm waves broke a dike at a chemical plant and raised fears floodwaters could release toxic chemicals. Officials have pledged to relocate the plant.
The local government in Haining held New York-listed Jinko Solar Holding Co Ltd responsible for discharging toxic water that killed large numbers of fish.
But it also said rumors that dozens of people in Hongxiao village had contracted cancers, including leukemia, because of the firm are false. A man has been detained for spreading the rumors on the Internet.
Haining officials said there were four cancer patients in the area last year and two this year. It was rumored that 31 villagers had contracted cancers and six of them had leukemia.
Because of the rumors, more than 500 villagers went to the factory on Thursday night demanding an explanation, the Haining government said in a statement. Some protesters charged into the factory compound, overturning eight company vehicles and destroying its offices, the government said. On Friday, four police vehicles were damaged.
Video footage posted on the city government's information office website showed the factory's smashed windows and dozens of police deployed to the site.
The factory's waste disposal system has been failing pollution tests since April and despite warning from authorities, the plant had not effectively controlled the pollution, Xinhua news agency cited Chen Hongming, deputy head of Haining's environmental protection bureau, as saying.
Toxic waste from the plant, which manufactures photovoltaic panels, cells and wafers, contained excessive fluorine.
A 64-year-old Hongxiao villager surnamed Shi told The Associated Press not only did the factory discharge waste water into a river, it also spewed dense smoke out of a dozen chimneys.
"An elementary school and a kindergarten are located less than a kilometer from the plant. My house is only about 500 meters from the plant. Many fish died after the factory discharged waste into a small river," Shi said.
"The villagers strongly request that this factory be moved to another area. I am very worried about the health of the younger generation," he said.
A number of people suspected of theft and vandalism during the protest have been caught by police.
The incident was the latest major environmental protest in China.
Last month, 12,000 residents in the northeastern city of Dalian protested after storm waves broke a dike at a chemical plant and raised fears floodwaters could release toxic chemicals. Officials have pledged to relocate the plant.
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