Blacklisted chemical factory re-starts in Henan
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Beijing-based newspaper China Youth Daily Monday reported that a blacklisted toxic chemical plant in central China's Henan Province had recently begun to produce methanol again with the support of local government.
On May 7, 2010, according to the newspaper, the Fengqiu County government set up a working group led by county head Li Hui to deal with problems related to the normal operation of the factory.
An anonymous official said the 18-member working group's purpose is not to deal with the toxicity of the plant but to "prevent locals from reporting this problem."
However, the director of the area's environmental protection bureau said tests conducted showed no pollution problems, and the factory's emissions met standards.
Environmental experts countered, stating the methanol waste, water and residue are toxic and cause significant harm to the human nervous system, damage the eyes, respiratory system, and may lead to cancer and leukemia.
Residents say the gas from the factory is poisonous and kills farm animals, The waste water has polluted the local river as well as further downstream to the Yellow River.
A local man said his chickens were poisoned by the waste. Along the road, many trees on the factory side rotted away. Inside the factory, a blast furnace is discharging smoke 24 hour a day.
On May 10, 2010, the working group officially entered Guochang Village, to direct the relocation of the villagers. Most of the houses of Guochang Village, which is close to the west side of the factory, have been removed. A resident told the newspaper reporter that the county government forced 110 households to move because of the "construction of a new countryside."
Xinxiang Yellow River Chemical Co., Ltd is located in a densely populated area upstream of the Yellow River in Fengqiu County. It started to produce methanol in 2008 but was forced to stop production by the end of the year, but the equipment was never removed.
Originally, it was a state-owned factory built in the 1970s that primarily produced urea. In 1998, the factory went bankrupt. In 2003, the Party secretary of Fengqiu County, Li Yinkui, sold the factory for purportedly less than market value to fellow resident and businessman Huang Jinci. One year later, the factory began to produce methanol without proper reporting.
After multiple complaints by residents from 2004 to 2008, the factory was ordered to stop methanol production and Li was accused of taking more than 13 million yuan in bribes. Huang was demoted from his position as deputy to the People's Congress at the provincial, city and county level as a result.
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