Renqiu, Hebei: Paper mill pollution is serious EPA leaders accused of protection

A few days ago, netizens and the masses told reporters that Renqiu City in Hebei Province, including the families of the Huabei Oilfield, Shiliqiao, Xinzhonggao, Shimen Bridge, and Hehua Village, suffered numerous countless years in the Liuzhuang Industrial Zone. The pollution of the electroplating enterprises in the home has suffered. “Our people have not been effectively petitioned for many years and they desperation have to resort to the media. We hope the media will be fair.”

Then, is the above-mentioned reflection of the masses true? In order to thoroughly understand the truth, the reporter went to Renqiu City, Hebei Province for a survey interview.

Electroplating companies gather pollution

“We can only watch now that so many electroplating factories are seriously polluting our living environment and endangering our health.” In the Liuzhuang Industrial Zone in Renqiu City, several villagers who claim to have conscience told reporters.

The reporter went to the Liuzhuang Industrial Zone in Renqiu City and brought the electroplating companies together. The locals all pointed to the Liuzhuang Industrial Zone. “There used to be only a few electroplating companies here. Due to the huge market and more and more companies, the city is simply The electroplating industrial zone has been engaged in attracting investment while enjoying GDP, but it does not care for the lives of the people around us.” said a villager in Xinzhong Village.

“Our pollution here is so serious that these electroplating plants directly discharged waste water through underground wells without any treatment at all. Around the electroplating factories are all villages, houses, farms, families and schools. It's a pollution camp," one villager told reporters.

The reporter’s understanding shows that the villagers’ response is true. The location of Liuzhuang Industrial Park is located in the south of Renqiu City. It is a place where the villages are relatively concentrated. There are dozens of villages such as Liuzhuang, Zhangzhuang, Shiliqiao, Majiaqiao, Xinzhongyu, Xiaolizhuang and Shimenqiao. Schools, Huabei Oilfield Electric Manufacturers, etc.

Under the leadership of the informed villagers, the reporter discovered that the Liuzhuang Industrial Zone gathered Cinda Aluminum, Yuzhongzhong galvanized, Zhonglian Aluminum, Fenglu Aluminum, Wanbao Aluminum, Wuhuan Aluminum, and Changtai Aluminum. Aluminum factory, galvanizing plant.

On the same day as the reporter interviewed, these electroplating companies were producing intensively. The air was filled with a pungent smell. "That smells to kill people and it gets stronger in the morning. We wake up every morning by this smell. A mother of the North China Oilfield Family Association told reporters.

“We have more people who have cancer nearby. I heard that electroplating factory pollution is the main cause of leukemia. We are planning to move away from here.” A woman who passed by with her child said very worriedly.

An old farmer in Xin Zhongkai said that because the croplands are also close to the Liuzhuang Industrial Zone, the leaves of wheat, corn, millet and other crops in the fields are covered with a thick layer of black dust all year round. Because of the pollution, food often dies prematurely and cuts production.

Under the guidance of the informed villagers, the reporter went to a water channel behind the family property area of ​​Huabei Oilfield and saw the water in the drainage channel was dark and spitting smell. “Some electroplating companies will also discharge wastewater into this ditch. We The groundwater could not be drunk at all, and the well water of four or five hundred meters had a strange smell. The color was yellowish and stinking, and it was astringent.”

"Environmental protection" is empty talk

According to informed sources, Renqiu Liuzhuang Industrial Park, these electroplating companies usually use sulfuric acid in the production process, these acids mainly play a role in corrosion, containing a lot of heavy metals, if the electroplating wastewater discharge of heavy metals is not up to standard, then the heavy metal will follow Wastewater enters river water. Some of the heavy metals in these waters are deposited in the silt in the bottom of the river and are generally not washed away with the flow of water, while others enter the soil. The heavy metals in the water are absorbed by the fish, while the heavy metals in the soil are absorbed by the passive plants. Once these fish, corn, vegetables, etc. are consumed by humans, heavy metal pollutants enter the human body through food, generally concentrated in the liver, blood, and may cause hepatomegaly and other diseases.

According to experts from the China Electroplating Association, there is a highly toxic substance called hexavalent chromium in the wastewater discharged from electroplating companies. Hexavalent chromium does not naturally decompose under natural conditions and can accumulate in the human body and the environment. It is harmful to the human body. Big. Reporters were informed that hexavalent chromium can cause diarrhea, digestive disorders and other symptoms, resulting in toxic reactions of the kidney, liver, nervous system and hematopoietic organs.

“These electroplating companies that do not meet the standard of wastewater discharge should be shut down or even banned. However, why are so many large and small enterprises in the Liuzhuang Industrial Zone produced for decades?” according to the “Decision of the State Council on Several Issues of Environmental Protection”, For electroplating enterprises, "local people's governments at or above the county level have ordered them to close down or suspend production." The "Decision" also made it clear that "If the overdue period has not been banned, shut down, or stopped production according to regulations, it is necessary to investigate the relevant leaders of the local people's governments and related issues. The responsibility of the person in charge of the company."

At the end of the interview, the accompanying villagers said with emotion: “The existence of the Liuzhuang Industrial Zone is a blockbuster that threatens the safety of drinking water for the tens of thousands of residents around us. Over the years, we have also had more than one On the ground, they visited the Renqiu Environmental Protection Bureau, but they have never been effectively managed. I heard that these electroplating companies give the Renqiu Environmental Protection Bureau a lot of 'sewage charges' every year. The EPA is doing its own way in its place. It is a virtual reality that makes the people chilling!"

With the economic development, environmental protection issues have become the focus of social concern. The national investment in environmental protection is also increasing. The efforts made by local governments to develop economic interests are also undeniable. However, the economic development cannot be done at the expense of the environment. The “Twelfth Five-Year Plan” also sets a policy high-voltage line for the energy conservation and emission reduction of enterprises in China. If, as Renqiu Environmental Protection Agency, it does not effectively administer pollution companies for a long time, then , Our environmental resources are not enough to be destroyed by these big taxpayers. Environmental protection will also be an empty talk.