The Xi'an Intermediate People's Court in Shaanxi Province recently passed judgment on a pollution case which affected local villagers for over eight years.

In May 1998, a petroleum company in Chang'an District, Xi'an City cleaned its oil tanks in Mingdu Town, contaminating drinking water downstream. Villagers living at Zhanglei and Qiaotou found their wells giving off a bad smell and with undrinkable water.

The Health and Epidemic Prevention Station of Shaanxi Province made an investigation in December 1998, concluding that the wells contained "obvious petrol fumes." In February 2004, the provincial engineering research institute carried out a further analysis on water samples, indicating that the well water contained unsafe levels of petroleum and substances similar to nitrate, rendering it undrinkable.

On January 29, 2006, 1,046 residents in the two villages brought a lawsuit against the petroleum company, claiming 2.0397 million yuan (US$ 262,324) in compensation for both pollution disposal and mental damage.

After the court accepted the case, judges ordered on-spot investigations and negotiations with both the local government and the petroleum company. These included another 93 villagers as plaintiffs for the lawsuit.

Under the intercession of the court, the two sides reached a deal last August. Villagers gave up their claim to compensation, while the petroleum company paid 480,000 yuan (US$ 61,732) to clean up the water and construct new drinking water facilities.

(China.org.cn by Tang Fuchun, January 22, 2007)