Two companies in Shenzhen's Bao'an District have been fined 250,000 yuan (US$31,000) in total for discharging untreated chemical waste into a river, the Daily Sunshine reported yesterday.

The district's environmental protection inspectors found April 3 that several workers from a local cleaning company were discharging chemical waste into the Shanghenglang River, a tributary of the Guanlan River, without any treatment. The inspectors immediately put an end to the practice.

If too much chemical waste flows from the Shanghenglang River into the Guanlan River, a serious pollution accident may occur, the inspectors said. They conducted a test on the water quality of the Shanghenglang River on Sunday and the result showed the water was safe.

After investigation, the inspectors found that the cleaning company was paid by an iron wire company to treat the chemical waste at a price of 50 yuan per ton.

According to related rules, all chemical waste should be entrusted to qualified enterprises, which obtain prior approval from the government, for treatment, the investigators said. Shenzhen now has four such enterprises, which charge about 1,000 yuan per ton.

The district's environmental protection bureau ruled that the iron wire company should be fined 150,000 yuan. It is the highest fine the bureau has ordered so far. The cleaning company was fined 100,000 yuan.

(Shenzhen Daily April 11, 2006)