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Suit filed over chemical dumping
By Richard Fu |
September 21, 2011, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A lawsuit led by environmental group Friends of Nature was filed yesterday against the company that illegally dumped hazardous wastes in June in Qujing in southwest China's Yunnan Province, seeking 10 million yuan (US$1.57 million) in ecological compensation.
The suit is against Yunnan Luliang Chemical Industry Co, its main shareholder Yunnan Luliang Peace Technology Co, as well as the local environmental protection agency in Qujing. Luliang dumped more than 5,000 tons of chromium in June that killed livestock and tainted rivers.
The Qujing City Intermediate People's Court will soon decide whether to accept the case, according to the Legal Daily.
The 10 million yuan sought would be deposited in a specially established fund to help treat and recover the environment damaged by the chemical company. The fund would be jointly supervised by the plaintiff, the court and a third party.
The plaintiffs, who have visited the site to collect evidence, also asked the court to order Luliang to take immediate and effective measures to eliminate dangers caused by the dumping.
The Qujing case has sparked widespread fears because the tainted rivers supply drinking water for the heavily populated Pearl River Delta. Vice Minister of Environmental Protection Zhang Lijun said early this month the incident had an "extremely bad environmental impact."
Two truck drivers in Qujing dumped their loads of industrial waste near a reservoir to save on costs, and rainfall washed part of the toxins into the lake, killing dozens of head of cattle. Local officials initially denied complaints that this was a public health hazard.
The drivers and six other suspects including a deputy general manager of Luliang Chemical Industry have been detained for illegally dumping carcinogenic waste on hills, local government officials said early this month.
The waste directly caused the deaths of 77 cattle and polluted 40,000 cubic meters of water in the reservoir and another 3,000 cubic meters in a nearby river, they said.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection, responsible for assessing the environmental impact of industrial projects, has stopped accepting applications for new projects related to the production and storage of dangerous chemicals outside industrial parks, according to Vice Minister Zhang Lijun.
The ministry is also launching a nationwide inspection of chemical producers.
Zhang did not say when the ministry will accept applications again but admitted that the country faced worsening chemical pollution. The number of chemical plants has increased too quickly, their pollution-control measures have lagged behind and they have not always carried out proper supervision, he said.
The suit is against Yunnan Luliang Chemical Industry Co, its main shareholder Yunnan Luliang Peace Technology Co, as well as the local environmental protection agency in Qujing. Luliang dumped more than 5,000 tons of chromium in June that killed livestock and tainted rivers.
The Qujing City Intermediate People's Court will soon decide whether to accept the case, according to the Legal Daily.
The 10 million yuan sought would be deposited in a specially established fund to help treat and recover the environment damaged by the chemical company. The fund would be jointly supervised by the plaintiff, the court and a third party.
The plaintiffs, who have visited the site to collect evidence, also asked the court to order Luliang to take immediate and effective measures to eliminate dangers caused by the dumping.
The Qujing case has sparked widespread fears because the tainted rivers supply drinking water for the heavily populated Pearl River Delta. Vice Minister of Environmental Protection Zhang Lijun said early this month the incident had an "extremely bad environmental impact."
Two truck drivers in Qujing dumped their loads of industrial waste near a reservoir to save on costs, and rainfall washed part of the toxins into the lake, killing dozens of head of cattle. Local officials initially denied complaints that this was a public health hazard.
The drivers and six other suspects including a deputy general manager of Luliang Chemical Industry have been detained for illegally dumping carcinogenic waste on hills, local government officials said early this month.
The waste directly caused the deaths of 77 cattle and polluted 40,000 cubic meters of water in the reservoir and another 3,000 cubic meters in a nearby river, they said.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection, responsible for assessing the environmental impact of industrial projects, has stopped accepting applications for new projects related to the production and storage of dangerous chemicals outside industrial parks, according to Vice Minister Zhang Lijun.
The ministry is also launching a nationwide inspection of chemical producers.
Zhang did not say when the ministry will accept applications again but admitted that the country faced worsening chemical pollution. The number of chemical plants has increased too quickly, their pollution-control measures have lagged behind and they have not always carried out proper supervision, he said.
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