A number of mining enterprises affiliated with the Jiangxi Copper Corporation in Dexing City, Jiangxi Province, discharged industrial waste water into the Le'an River multiple times over the years, with hundreds of thousands of people affected downstream, the Beijing Times reported.

But the companies and local environmental protection departments said the area's copper mining industry dates back to the Tang and Song dynasties, with contamination accumulated from abandoned mines over generations. Modern corporations, they argue, should not be used as a scapegoat.

Some local residents have urged environmental protection authorities to prohibit further contamination by closing down and consolidating polluting firms and upping compensation standards. They also called on the local government to ensure access to safe drinking water.

(China.org.cn December 10, 2011)

据《京华时报》报道，在江西省德兴市，江西铜业集团下属的多家矿山企业，多年将工业废水排入乐安河，祸及下游数十万群众。

但矿山企业和环保部门却称：德兴早在唐宋年间就有采铜历史，污染主要是由于历代废弃采矿区产生，现代企业不应该代历史受过。

一些沿河群众呼吁，环保部门应责令污染企业停产整顿，并提高赔偿标准；同时，地方政府应保证民众饮水安全。