MSG plant poses environmental danger in C. China
0 
Villagers living near a monosodium glutamate or MSG factory in Hebei Province are still blaming the Meihua Group for making them sick, a year after a severe environmental accident.
![Meihua Group' factory in Bazhou, Hebei Province. [northnews.cn]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20101103/0014222d98500e3b073008.jpg "Meihua Group' factory in Bazhou, Hebei Province. [northnews.cn]") |
|
Meihua Group' factory in Bazhou, Hebei Province. [northnews.cn] |
A major environmental catastrophe last year polluted the water, Beijing-based Economic Information Daily reported Tuesday.
However, a local government official said the company did not violate environmental regulations but did not comment on the ongoing problem. MSG is a popular flavor enhancer used to cook.
More than 1,000 acres of farmland cannot be cultivated after poisoned sewage from Meihua Group's factory in Baizhou destroyed the soil.
The company was punished for illegally discharging sewage and was fined 810,000 yuan ($121,221). It was also forced to suspend one of the factories and implement a purification system.
However, the report said the supposedly suspended plant was still operating and still harming the environment.
"I've tried to grow crops four times this year without any success," said a resident of Dongduan village, near the factory plant.
The report said the ground water and air quality around the factory area was polluted, and many local residents refused to drink the water. Some villagers were forced to use bottled water.
The company paid 1.72 billion yuan ($257 million) in taxes to Baizhou government in 2009, the report said.
"Experts in Baizhou are investigating the problems. No violation of environmental laws at Meihua Group was found during the initial investigation," Xu Wei of the publicity department in Baizhou, told the Global Times.
Shang Caibo of the Environmental Bureau in Langfang, which supervises Meihua Group, and Wang Youshan, general manager of the company, both told the Global Times that the allegations in the paper were incorrect.
Shang said no recent assessment of soil, water or air around the Meihua Group site was conducted.
Zhang Boju of Friends of Nature, a leading environmental protection NGO, told the Global Times that soil contamination could have a long-term impact on locally grown agricultural products.
Go to Forum >>0 Comments