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Activist fights dirty chemical plants

By Qian Yanfeng (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-05-27 08:24

Hou said he was frustrated in his former role at the EPB because the strongest penalty he could give the company was a fine.

"It doesn't help because after paying the money the companies just continue with the pollution," he said.

Hou said the park was under the direct administration of Yangzhou's municipal government, which was more senior than the EPB.

He suggested that the reason why the park had not been closed was because it contributed a lot of local tax revenue.

"The government really has to find a proper balance between environmental protection and economic development and sacrificing people's health is not the right way," he said.

Pollution affects residents

Meanwhile, residents in nearby Nongge village say they do not open their windows because of the pungent odor caused by the chemical plant.

Local man Zhang Rongqing said residents had been forced to live with polluted water for six years.

"We have not been able to use water from the well to wash our clothes since 2003 because it is polluted water and people get rashes from it," he was quoted by the Xinhua News Agency.

In his fight to have the park relocated, Hou said he had requested action from many government bodies but their reactions were "insufficient" and pollution "continues."

He said that pollution had caused residents to move away from the area and that property prices had fallen significantly.

"Fewer people want to buy apartments here," he said.

Hou questioned why the municipal government would allow chemical plants to be constructed near the center of Yizheng.

He said that the park had been expanded 12 times above its approved size since it opened in 2003.

Zhang Baojun from the administrative committee of the chemical park, said: "The site was carefully chosen because it is ideal for the development of the chemical industry."

The location on the Yangtze River and local infrastructure like oil pipelines were considered favorable for development, he said.

Bao Zhigao, director of the project development department of Yangzhou Environmental Protection Bureau, said the government was re-evaluating the layout of the park to minimize its environmental impact.

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