Four sacked for chemical leak in Shanxi  

山西长治苯胺泄漏事故：4名企业责任人被撤职

12月31日7时40分左右，山西长治市潞城市山西天脊煤化工集团股份有限公司发生一起苯胺泄漏事故，导致下游河北邯郸用水受到影响。6日晚间，记者从山西潞安天脊“12·31”应急指挥部获悉，潞安天脊煤化工集团天脊方元公司总经理陈建温、安全生产副总经理任勇杰等4名直接责任人已被撤职。

Changzhi (CNS) -- The Tianji Coal Chemical Industry Group has fired four employees over the chemical leak that contaminated a city's water supply in Hebei Province, the company's emergency response headquarters told reporters Sunday.

The dismissed employees, who have taken direct responsibility for the leak, include the chemical manufacturer's general manager and vice general manager in charge of safety, according to the headquarters.

The broken pipe leaking the toxic chemical aniline was discovered in Shanxi Province on Dec. 31. It contaminated the Zhuozhang River, the source of drinking water for the downstream city of Handan.

The responsible company halted production, changed the broken pipe and took measures to limit the spread of the chemical, Tianji's emergency headquarters said.

We have taken water samples from the river every two hours at eight different monitoring places, it also said.