In 2011, Qiugang Village in Bengbu City, Anhui Province attracted the attention of the world. "Qiugang Defenders", an environmentally-themed documentary short that records the villagers' struggle against a local chemical factory, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short that year.
Many years later, the village still has to face the same bleak status quo: the bare soil is barren of grass, with only dead trees standing beside the wall; a thin layer of frost seems to be attached to the ground, showing a faint white color; a patch of grass at the root of the wall The water in the small puddle was dark red and had a faint pungent smell...
In 2006, two chemical plants in Qiugang Village directly polluted more than a dozen ponds and hundreds of acres of fields in the village, causing several people to die from cancer, which aroused social concern. A year later, due to environmental pollution problems such as excessive emissions, the chemical plant was ordered to suspend operations for rectification and was relocated in 2008.
Although the chemical factory has been moved away for 6 years, there are still no plants growing normally in the factory area, which is in sharp contrast to the overgrown weeds around it.
The Bengbu Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau stated that after the two chemical plants of Bengbu Jiucailuo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. and Zuguang located in Qiugang Village were shut down according to law at the end of 2008, the two companies began to organize efforts to clean up the obviously contaminated soil in the factory area, dredge the rainwater drainage system in the factory area, and ensure that all rainwater in the factory area can enter the sewage treatment plant through the urban pipe network for treatment.
However, several years have passed and the effect of environmental restoration has been minimal. While the villagers of Qiugang Village are still struggling, more villages are beginning to face similar situations of environmental pollution. Wanggang Village in Yuhui District, Bengbu City is one of the new cases.
Wanggang Village is "surrounded" by Anhui Fengyuan Group Co., Ltd., Anhui Bayi Chemical Co., Ltd. and Anhui Tianrun Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., and the air and water around the village are exposed to pollution. When walking into Wanggang Village, the first thing that catches your eye is the factory that is producing near the village. White smoke is rising from the chimney not far away, and there is also a pungent smell.
74-year-old villager Duan Fengyang said: "It's pretty good during the day. At night, especially after one o'clock in the morning, these chemical plants are emitting exhaust, and the smell is even worse. After smelling it, I feel dizzy and have a dry throat."
There is only a wall between the factory where the factory is producing and the Donggou Dam on the east side of the village. The villagers said that they often come here to cast nets to catch fish. Now, there have been no fish for over twenty years. No one dares to use this water. The water in the well is also red. Now we only dare to use tap water.
The other side of the dam is next to the walls of these factories. There is a ditch in the low-lying area that is dark red, and the land next to the ditch is gray and dry. In the ditch, the plants had long since died.
"Don't touch this water. After touching it, it will be sticky and difficult to clean. Even if you wash it, the skin will peel off in a few days." Duan Fengyang said.
Rather than repairing the polluted environment, the villagers of Wanggang Village hope to move out of their homes that are no longer safe.
According to statistics from the fire department, Bayi Chemical Co., Ltd. next to Wanggang Village has had many production accidents in recent years: On December 28, 2012, the company’s chlorobenzene workshop exploded and caught fire, covering an area of 1,200 square meters; on May 27 of the same year, the falling film platform in the west building of the same workshop of the factory also exploded and caused a fire; on July 12, 2011, a 30-cubic-meter batching tank in the para-aminobenfen production workshop exploded and caught fire. On July 26, 2010, a nitric acid tank burst accident occurred in the factory, resulting in 1 death and 8 injuries.
Villagers in Wanggang Village told reporters that even if the factory exploded, the villagers were only notified to evacuate, and the Bayi Chemical Plant resumed production not long after the explosion. Liu Xuebin, secretary of the Wanggang Village Committee, told reporters that because of long-term living in pollution and worries about hidden dangers caused by chemical plant explosions, Wanggang Village has reported it to relevant departments many times, but no department has clearly responded to this issue to the villagers.
Bengbu Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau stated that Bengbu City has promoted the layout adjustment of enterprises by delisting and entering parks, and actively promoted the relocation of a number of key enterprises to parks and industrial concentration areas; for a number of enterprises with serious pollution and insufficient treatment facilities, such as Bayi Chemical, Tianrun Chemical, Jiaxian Chemical, and Wutong Batteries, the prevention and control level has been improved by implementing measures such as suspension of production and time-limited treatment.
Villagers in Wanggang Village said that they heard that the surrounding chemical plants will be moved within five years. After the move, the air may be better, but what about the polluted water? What to do with the land that has been contaminated? If the factory just slaps its butt and leaves, what should the people who live in polluted areas do?
The Bengbu Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau stated that in order to properly dispose of the pollution left behind after the relocation of chemical enterprises and prevent secondary pollution and the occurrence of environmental emergencies, in accordance with the requirements of environmental protection laws and regulations, and in combination with the actual situation and current situation of the relocation of chemical enterprises in Bengbu City, the prevention, control and restoration of pollution caused by the relocation of chemical enterprises was carried out.
The Environmental Protection Bureau requires enterprises to formulate targeted special environmental emergency plans before relocating; actively cooperate with the land, planning, and construction departments. For the relocated chemical enterprise sites to be developed and utilized, if the site environmental investigation and risk assessment are not carried out in accordance with relevant regulations, and the responsible party for treatment and restoration is not specified, land transfer is prohibited; if the contaminated site has not been treated and repaired, it is prohibited to start any project unrelated to the treatment and restoration. For the relocated chemical enterprise sites that are not temporarily developed and utilized, the responsible persons are urged to take isolation and other measures to prevent the spread of pollution. We also carry out prevention, control and restoration work by safely disposing of solid waste left behind by companies, organizing site environmental surveys for relocated chemical companies, and urging relocated chemical companies to disclose pollution prevention and control information during the relocation process.
The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has conducted a large number of studies in the Huaihe River Basin since 2005 to explore the relationship between tumors and water environment pollution in the Huaihe River Basin. After eight years, a research team led by Yang Gonghuan, former deputy director of the center, has initially figured out the relationship between water pollution in the Huaihe River Basin and digestive tract tumors. Yang Gonghuan believes that although water environmental pollution in the Huaihe River Basin has been basically under control after 2005, serious water environmental pollution problems still exist in some areas, and people in some areas of the Huaihe River Basin still face high risks of tumor incidence and death.
Every time they hear that someone in the village is sick, the villagers worry whether they will be next.
"We all dream of escaping from this pollution as soon as possible." Duan Fengyang said, (Reporters Yang Yuhua and Zhou Chang)
