Posted on 08/14/2011 12:59:13 AM PDT by bruinbirdman
Thousands of protesters faced off with riot police in northeast China to demand a chemical plant be relocated after a toxic pollution scare sparked urgent evacuations, state media said.
Residents in the port city of Dalian gathered in front of the municipal government's office, shouting demands as hundreds of police looked on, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
The protest was triggered by mounting fears over the safety of a factory that makes paraxylene -- a flammable carcinogenic liquid used in the production of polyester films and fabrics -- which belongs to the Fujia Group.
On Monday, residents living near the plant had to be evacuated after waves triggered by an incoming storm breached a dyke protecting the factory and threatened to damage the building, sparking fears of a toxic chemical spill.
Workers managed to repair the dyke, but residents have been left worried about the plant's potential for environmental damage and its impact on their health.
Tang Jun, Dalian's top official, has tried to calm the protesters, promising to move the plant out of the city, but the crowd had still not dispersed early Sunday afternoon, Xinhua said.
The Dalian municipal government was unavailable for comment when contacted by AFP.
Pictures of the protest posted on Sina's Weibo service, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, showed people marching down a street with a banner that read "We want to survive, we want a good environment, give me back my Dalian."
However, AFP could not verify whether the photos were
(Excerpt) Read more at france24.com ...
Only one dyke there to guard the building? Surely they could have hired more?
/SILLY
Nader wrote “Unsafe at any Speed” Where is he to day and why isn’t he trying to apply that same title to China?
“Only one dyke there to guard the building? Surely they could have hired more?”
Finally, a practical use for Janet Napolitano!
Another policy that makes China so “competitive.”
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