Six petrochemical companies in east China's Jiangsu Province are under orders to improve
waste treatment and reduce pollution going into the Yangtze and
other rivers.
The companies, including the Yangtze Petrochemical and Jinling
Petrochemical Companies were ordered to address environmental
problems by the State Environmental Protection Administration
(SEPA).
SEPA launched a comprehensive national review of chemical and
petrochemical projects near major waterways on February 7.
China's petrochemical and chemical industries located near
waterways pose a significant threat to the environment, SEPA said
April 5, as it completed an inspection of 20 such projects at
different sites.
Environmental protection officials inspected 127 projects and
found 20 large plants with severe environmental issues including 11
along the Yangtze, China's longest waterway, one on the Yellow
River and two at Daya Bay. Those inspected are involved in oil
refining and working with ethylene and methanol.
SEPA has ordered those in charge to take immediate measures to
address the problems. An additional 1.62 billion yuan (US$202
million) has been allocated for environmental safety facilities at
the 20 sites.
The 20 factories and projects were subjected to SEPA checks due
to the size of their operations, their location and potential to
harm the environment.
"The factories and projects are involved in oil refining,
ethylene and methyl alcohol production and such work plays a large
part in China's economic development," said Pan Yue, SEPA
vice-minister.
Environmental risks could not be resolved overnight and only a
long-term, effective legal mechanism and supervision would achieve
long-term environmental improvements for China's rivers and
waterways, said Pan.
His words reflect the hopes of China's environment protection
chiefs and the general public for an effective supervisory
mechanism to prevent pollution.
Seventy-six water pollution incidents have been reported since
the toxic chemical spill in northeast China's Songhua River last
November. The only set target the government failed to realize
during the 2001-05 period was that of environmental protection,
said Premier Wen Jiabao at the annual session of the National People's
Congress last month.
Since 2004, SEPA has launched several anti-pollution drives
targeting enterprises operating without permission or discharging
pollutants in violation of the laws.
Early last year, SEPA suspended construction of 30 large
projects with a total investment of 117.9 billion yuan on the
grounds of environmental protection. The move clearly demonstrated
the government's resolve to stop pollution at source and to achieve
sustainable development.
The government proposed a conservationist and environmentally
friendly society in its 11th Five-Year Guidelines (2006-2010).
Following the Songhua River incident, SEPA kicked off a
nationwide inspection on environmental safety and launched trials
in ten provinces and municipalities, including Beijing, to
calculate GDP taking environmental factors into account.
These measures displayed that SEPA was working to establish a
long-term supervision mechanism which it is anticipated
will?help build an environmentally friendly society, said Wang
Rong, a professor at prestigious Nanjing University in Jiangsu
Province.
Meanwhile the government has raised the penalties for those who
are in charge of enterprises which pollute the environment. .
Last year, 27 officials involved in seven incidents were
prosecuted and convicted. And Xie Zhenhua resigned as SEPA director
due to the Songhua River spill.
(Xinhua News Agency April 10, 2006)