China punishes officials over Songhua River toxic spill

0 Comments | AFP, November, 2006

BEIJING (AFP) — China has punished officials over a toxic spill into its third-biggest river last year that alerted the nation to the environmental hazards of rapid economic growth. The officials received demerits, were demoted or dismissed for their handling of the November 2005 blast at a chemical plant operated by oil major Petrochina in Jilin province, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Around 100 tonnes of the carcinogens benzene and nitrobenzene poured into the Songhua River in China's northeast after the explosion, which killed eight and injured 60. Highest-ranking among those punished was Duan Wende, vice president of PetroChina, who received an administrative demerit for neglecting work safety, Xinhua said. Investigators concluded the plant had no effective...