A river popular with tourists was badly polluted by a chemical
plant spillage in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province. The?plant responsible
for the pollution has been ordered to reduce production for the
next few months.
Nanjing Titanium Dioxide Chemicals, a state-owned factory and
one of the country's top titanium producers, discharged more than
3,000 tons of untreated industrial waste into the Nanhe River on
the outskirts of Nanjing.
The pollution entered the Qinhuai River which in turn joins the
Nanhe in Nanjing and flows into the city center. The pollution
flowed into the city. When it arrived, local residents complained
about the smell and the local environmental protection bureau
launched an investigation.
The incident occurred because a dam built last year to block
pollution from the Nanhe River flowing into the Qinhuai was torn
down. The demolition of the dam last Friday, required by the local
government because it's dredging the city's whole water system, led
to the uncontrolled discharge of pollution into the Qinhuai.
According to Liu Xingxiang, a 63-year-old resident living on the
Qinhuai, the river adds to the city's charm and influenced the
whole urban planning framework for the ancient capital. The local
government spent 3 billion yuan (US$375 million) last year cleaning
up the river and improving sightseeing zones along its banks.
"However, the recent pollution means this clean-up was in vain,"
said Liu. "It might also influence other cities along the lower
reaches of Yangtze River. It's really a great pity." He added that
he could not bear the unpleasant smell from the polluted river and
had seen many dead fish floating on top of the yellow-colored
water. ?
The local government has promised a clean up. Lu Pinggui, deputy
secretary-general of Nanjing city government, announced yesterday
that a new dam between the two rivers would be built immediately to
block pollutants from further polluting the Qinhuai River.
And Nanjing Titanium Dioxide Chemicals Ltd has been told to
reduce production capacity and ensure all of its wastewater is
treated and meets environmental protection standards before being
discharged into the Nanhe River.
The factory has its own wastewater management system, but it can
deal with only 1,000 tons of such material a day. However, with a
production capacity of 250,000 tons per year, the factory's waste
discharge systems can't meet the demand, said a factory worker
surnamed Zhang. ?
The factory is scheduled to move out of the city by the end of
2007 as part of Nanjing's urban plan.
Lu said a special environmental supervision team would check the
factory every day and it could be forced to close down ahead of
schedule if it didn’t fulfill environment protection promises. Lu
added that the Nanhe River's polluted water would be diverted to
the city's wastewater management system for purification.
(China Daily August 30, 2006)