"Pollutants From Plant Killed Fish in China"

September 2013

"Pollutants From Plant Killed Fish in China"

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/world/asia/thousands-of-fish-killed-by-waste-from-chinese-plant.html?ref=environment&_r=0

Along a 19 mile river in Hubei Province in central China, thousands of dead fish were found floating along the river, and about 110 tons of them have already been cleared. Environmental officials said these fish were killed by pollutants emitted by a local chemical plant. Environmental protection officials also said tests on water taken from the Fu River upstream from the metropolis of Wuhan showed that extremely high levels of ammonia in the water had been caused by pollution from a plant owned by the Hubei Shuanghuan Science and Technology Company. Officials then ordered the company’s plant to stop production while the cause of the leak was investigated.
     According to the local news media reports, the plant produces sodium carbonate and ammonium chloride for fertilizer. Since 2008, it has been cited for environmental violations four times, according to Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, a Chinese nongovernmental organization that follows and researches air and water pollution.

     China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection says that water pollution was a serious concern in this case based on the factors of industrial spills, farm runoff, and untreated sewage in degrading water quality. The Fu River flows into the Yangtze, China’s longest river and a source of drinking water for millions. Mr. Ma explains that spills into the Yangtze and its tributaries continue to be a problem despite the many investments that  have been made in reducing pollution.