Chemical plant closed in Hunan after protests

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-08-03 12:02

A controversial chemical plant in central China’s Hunan province, which local villagers said was responsible for a rash of illnesses and major damage to their crops, has been “permanently” shut down, the Beijing News reported today.

The corporate legal representative of the Xianhe Chemical Plant was detained, and the two top officials of the local environmental bureau were suspended from their posts, according to a report from Xinhua.net Sunday.

Chen Run’er, the party secretary of Changsha, promised the local residents physical check-ups and strict government oversight to ensure that there will be no further contamination.

The chemical plant, located in Liuyang, under jurisdiction of Changsha, leaked dangerously high levels of toxic heavy metals, including cadmium and indium. Testing revealed that 509 of the 2888 residents near the plant had abnormally high levels of cadmium in their bodies. The local residents’ complaints grew quickly 2008, and some of them recently protested, demanding the plant be closed.