Deep water pollution

Although a local environment official has been removed from his post after the recent exposure of serious underground water pollution in a village of Hebei province, a series of questions are still to be answered.

According to residents in Xiaozhuzhuang village, they have been reporting underground water pollution to the relevant government departments for many years, ever since local well water started turning red in the 1990s years after a chemical factory was built nearby. But their worries were continually ignored.

The serious underground water pollution was put into spotlight only days ago when Deng Lianjun, then-head of Cangxian county's environmental protection bureau, told the media that "the red does not mean water pollution" and "boiled rice made with red beans also appears red". His remarks have swiftly put himself in the vortex of public outrage and the long-neglected pollution in the spotlight. Under the mounting public pressure the county authorities announced his dismissal and organized a team of experts to conduct investigations.