"There are constant loud noises and foul smells. It's like living in a war zone." Fed up with pollution from local chemical factories, a group of retired workers have taken up the fight against the polluters. They are demanding the recall of the local people’s congress deputy on the grounds that he has done nothing about the problem, according to a China Youth Daily report on July 31.

Residents of Shihezi farm in China’s north western Xinjiang claim that nearby chemical factories built by Xinjiang Tianye Corporation (SHG:600075) have turned formerly fertile farmland into a polluted wasteland.

One stretch of land is hemmed in on three sides by a calcium carbide factory, a cement plant, a PVC plant and an acetylene factory. The calcium carbide factory is only 200 meters away from people's houses. The 1000 or so residents have to keep their windows shut all year round to escape the smell, noise and dust. Clothes hung out to dry are filthy in a matter of minutes.　

The leaves of their cotton plants are dark grey instead of green. Cotton output has dropped by a third, from 300 kg per mu to 200 kg per mu.

Their sunflowers wither and die after being watered. Those given less water survive longer. Residents say waste water discharged by the factories has polluted local water sources.

"We can’t go on living here. It’s literally killing us," 68-year-old Wang Lixian told the newspaper. "There used to be eighteen retired living workers here. Seven moved away and are all still alive, but eight of the eleven who stayed have died. Living here is a death sentence."

So the old workers decided to take action. But their efforts have been frustrated time and again.

66-year-old Chang Lesheng clearly remembers that in January 2008 the Shihezi farm leader came collecting residents’ suggestions on relocation.

But a month later, the residents were told they would have to pay 750 yuan per square meter to buy new homes – a price far beyond their means. Furthermore they were told to tear down their old houses themselves and, most worryingly, hand over their house ownership certificates.

"We are suffering from pollution and should be compensated. But instead we are being asked to surrender our house ownership certificates. They are just trying to worm out of their responsibility to relocate us.”

By March the position had changed again. The leader returned and said, "The factories have installed first-class environment protection facilities. There is no pollution problem and therefore no need for people to be relocated."

“If there is no pollution, where is the foul smell coming from?” said retired worker Zhu Jingli indignantly. “They should have taken the pollution problems into account when the factories were built and made plans to relocate us."

In order to prove that their living environments had been polluted, Chang Lesheng invited a professional cameraman to video the pollution. "He filmed clouds of thick smoke belching from factories," said Chang.

Then 70-year-old Zhu Jingli and 73-year-old Li Hanzhang went from door to door asking about the effects of the pollution on people, animals and crops. Zhu Lingli wrote up the results of the survey.

Then, unexpectedly, Xinjiang Tianye Corporation issued a public announcement on environmental protection and asked for suggestions from local residents.