Living Near Shaoxing's Polluted River

Local residents use water from a well located approximately 10 meters away from a polluted river. The area specialises in textile and dyeing. Two days before, it was reported that a pollution incident had occurred. The river appeared red due to discharge from a waste water pipe, from the Zhejiang Deou Chemical Manufacture Co. Ltd. chemical plant.

Unique identifier: GP04DDO

Type: Image

Shoot date: 10/05/2012

Locations: Binhai industrial zone, China, Shaoxing, Shaoxing County, Zhejiang

Credit line: © Yin Kuang / Greenpeace

Size: 3826px × 2402px 2MB

Ranking: ★★★★ (E)

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Shaoxing 'Red River' Pollution Incident

The Shaoxing Binhai Industrial Zone specialises in textile and dyeing. Besides the ongoing pollution associated with the textile manufacturing industry, there are many one-off incidents that also impact the local waters. On 8 May 2012, it was reported that a pollution incident had occurred in a river in Xiner village, in the Binhai industrial zone. According to surveys by the Shaoxing Environmental Pollution Bureau, it was caused by a dye manufacturer, the Zhejiang Deou Chemical Manufacture Co. Ltd. It was reported that the discharge pipe of this factory had burst, and that the wastewater had flowed directly into a small river that is part of the Qiantang River delta, polluting between 300 and 400 metres of river. A sample of the river water was collected within 48 hours of the accidental spill, at 00.30am on 10 May 2012. The colour of the river water was no longer red at that time. The water sample from the river impacted by the pollution incident contained a number of chemicals. Several of these chemicals are toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects.

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