Authorities have launched an investigation after two truck drivers dumped around 5,000 tons of toxic waste near a reservoir in Yunnan province from April to June, threatening the water source for tens of millions of people.
(Ecns.cn) -- It was a dry June day when Lu Jicai and Zhang Zhongde, two villagers who live in Sanbao County of Qujing city in Yunnan, discovered that their sheep were starting to die after being herded to a pond near their village.
The vet said the sheep had been poisoned, wept Yang Shihuan, Lu's wife, who said 38 of their 51 sheep had died after drinking water from the pond. Zhang Zhongde also lost 26 sheep from his herd.
It turned out that the dead sheep were no coincidence.
From April to June, two truck drivers dumped some 5,000 tons of toxic waste in the hills of Qilin District in Qujing, near the Chachong Reservoir. They had done so to make extra money, instead of transporting the chromium-contaminated material to neighboring Guizhou Province as they had been instructed.
At least 3,000 people live near the illegal dump sites as well as the runoff from the reservoir, which feeds into the Pearl River – one of China's longest waterways.
The Discipline and Inspection Commission of Qujing is investigating the case to see whether the local environmental protection department was paid to turn a blind eye to the dumping.
The department claimed it was unaware of the transportation of toxic waste, even though it should have been, He Hua, head of the local government's publicity department, told China Daily on Wednesday.
Local water sources are now being monitored and the waste has been returned to Luliang Chemical Industry.
Suspects detained
The provincial police department said Tuesday that five suspects had been detained over the dumping incident.
The suspects included a deputy general manager and an employee of Luliang Chemical Industry Co Ltd, which was found to have illegally dumped over 5,000 metric tons of chromium-contaminated waste, the public security bureau in Qujing City said in a press release.
Rainfall in June washed some of the chemicals into local water supplies and caused 77 cattle to die.
The third suspect was a deputy general manager with Sanli Fuel Co Ltd in Xingyi City of neighboring Guizhou Province, which was contracted to transport Luliang Chemical's industrial waste to Guizhou according to a deal signed between the two companies, the press release said.
Police had previously detained two other suspects who dumped waste near the reservoir instead of trucking it to Guizhou, it also said.
Investigators with the Pearl River Water Conservancy Committee said last week they had found excessive cancer-causing hexavalent chromium (chromium VI) at the dumping sites.
The committee said no apparent chromium VI pollution was detected in major drinking water sources, including the Huangnipu Reservoir and the Nanpan River.
The city government of Qujing said last week it would investigate to determine if any watchdog officials were guilty of dereliction of duty in the pollution scandal.
It has also ordered a thorough check of the distribution of all dangerous materials amid efforts to prevent similar pollution threats.
No human deaths have been attributed to the chromium pollution, but at least 14 local residents have been diagnosed with cancer since 2002, and many suspect their diseases were caused by contaminated drinking water.
