Beijing: A manufacturing town in east
China's Zhejiang Province has probed 33 pollution cases and
arrested 24 people in an environmental policy overhaul
following a lead poisoning which resulted in over 100
villagers falling ill last month.
As of Monday, the environmental protection office in
the Luqiao district in the city of Taizhou had fined 18
heavily polluting companies for a total of 2.85 million yuan
(USD 436,335) and ordered immediate changes ranging from the
replacement of their facilities to relocation.
All of the companies are manufacturing firms.
The products and services they provide range from
batteries and cooling equipment to electroplating for lamps
and knives, Xinhua reported.
One of the heaviest polluters, Jianhuang Knife Co, has
been closed for relocation, it said.
The massive environmental campaign was prompted by a lead
poisoning scandal in March, when untreated industrial
emissions from Taizhou Suqi Storage Battery Co Ltd in Luqiao
district poisoned 168 villagers.
The victims, including 53 children, had excessively high
levels of lead in their blood.
The battery plant was closed and its boss was detained
immediately after the scandal broke.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, April 19, 2011, 13:33