20,000 Poisoned by Chemical Spill in Chinese River

In one of the worst environmental disasters on record in China, an estimated 20,000 people were poisoned when a fertilizer factory dumped toxic chemicals into a river and contaminated the source of water for thousands of people.

The incident occurred Jan. 2 near the city of Changzhi in Shanxi province, but it was not made public until Thursday, when the Chinese Environmental News published a front-page account. It did not mention any deaths and did not say how many people were hospitalized.

Most of the victims reportedly suffered from stomachache, diarrhea, headache, dizziness and nausea. Those who bathed in the contaminated water reported a stinging sensation and ulcerated skin.

An official Chinese report, the basis of the Environmental News article, suggested that people who already had health problems suffered the most. It said that 81 children were “seriously poisoned.”

Account Was Held Up

The Times has learned that the Environmental News tried in January to publish an account of the incident but was barred by Chinese authorities from doing so until now.

Zhang Zhanxiong, a spokesman for the Communist Party city committee in Changzhi, told The Times by telephone that no one died as a result of the incident and that everyone has now recovered.

When asked for further details of the incident, Zhang replied, “We can only tell foreigners what is in the (Chinese) newspaper.”

A spokesman for the State Environmental Bureau also refused to provide details, saying he could not answer specific questions about what had happened or comment beyond what had appeared in the Environmental News.

According to the official Chinese account, on Jan. 2, while equipment was being repaired, the Changzhi County Chemical Fertilizer Factory released 17 cubic meters of poisonous chemicals into the drainage system. From there, the toxic material went directly into the Nanzhang River, which is the main source of water for two other factories, nine villages and about 30,000 people.

Water Plant Not Told

“The leaders of the chemical factory did not take immediate measures to stop the continuing contamination,” the Environmental News said. “Neither did they report the incident to their superiors. They did not even inform the Gaohe Water Factory, which was responsible for the water supply.”

The factory leaders reportedly sought to cover up the incident and gave false information to investigators.

The report did not identify the toxic chemical involved. But it said that in the days just after the incident, the levels of ammonia and nitrogen compounds found in the water were from several dozen to several hundred times the standards for drinking water set by the Chinese government.

Six days afterward, on Jan. 8, an investigation at one of the two factories that use water from the Nanzhang River showed that approximately 14,000 people had problems such as stomachache, diarrhea and dizziness.

Kindergarten Affected

“For comparatively weak people, the signs were more obvious,” the Chinese publication said. “ . . . Two hundred children in the kindergarten all had toxic reactions, and 81 of them proved to be seriously poisoned.”

The contaminated water supply made it necessary for the two factories to stop production, causing direct and indirect damages estimated at 3 million yuan (more than $800,000). Zhang told The Times that the fertilizer plant that caused the damage was also shut down and has not resumed production.

The Environmental News account said that although the fertilizer plant was built 10 years ago, there were still no pollution-control facilities there at the time of the incident.

The paper said that 130,000 yuan ($35,000) had been allocated to the factory for this purpose, and added, “But because the leaders did not think it was important, to this day the project for pollution control has not been finished.”

The paper did not explain what had happened to the money.

The president of the factory was given a warning in internal Communist Party disciplinary proceedings, but no other punishment. However, the Environmental News said, the vice president was fired from his job.

Factory Leaders Fined

Each of the factory leaders was also required to pay a token fine of 100 yuan (about $27), and the factory itself was fined 30,000 yuan ($8,100).

“When you do not pay attention to environmental protection, but only go after developing production, production cannot be developed, and, even more importantly, a higher price will have to be paid economically, and this is very harmful to the masses,” the Environmental News said.

In recent years China has had serious problems with water pollution. According to figures published last year, about 80% of the 34 billion tons of waste water and the 520 million tons of industrial waste residues in China are not treated properly.

The province of Shanxi, in north-central China, is known as the nation’s leading coal producer. It suffers from chronic water shortages.

“At present, the water supply problem for 2.7 million people in the province’s mountainous areas has not been resolved,” a provincial radio station reported last November. “This means that one out of every 10 people in the province suffers water shortage difficulties.”