A number of mining enterprises affiliated with the Jiangxi Copper Corporation in Dexing City, Jiangxi Province, discharged industrial waste water into the Le'an River multiple times over the years, with hundreds of thousands of people affected downstream, the Beijing Times reported.

But the companies and local environmental protection departments said the area's copper mining industry dates back to the Tang and Song dynasties, with contamination accumulated from abandoned mines over generations. Modern corporations, they argue, should not be used as a scapegoat.

Some local residents have urged environmental protection authorities to prohibit further contamination by closing down and consolidating polluting firms and upping compensation standards. They also called on the local government to ensure access to safe drinking water.

(China.org.cn December 10, 2011)

據《京華時報》報道，在江西省德興市，江西銅業集團下屬的多家礦山企業，多年將工業廢水排入樂安河，禍及下游數十萬群眾。

但礦山企業和環保部門卻稱：德興早在唐宋年間就有采銅歷史，污染主要是由于歷代廢棄采礦區產生，現代企業不應該代歷史受過。

一些沿河群眾呼吁，環保部門應責令污染企業停產整頓，并提高賠償標準；同時，地方政府應保證民眾飲水安全。