Focus on Arts and Ecology

The big environmental stories in the Chinese media this week (11-18 October)

Eight employees from the petrochemical firm responsible for a serious chemical spill in Fujian province have been sentenced to 1.5 to 4.5 years in prison. A local court found them culpable of “negligently causing serious accident” and “fabricating data”. Some of the defendants said they would appeal.

The toxic spill happened on 4 November 2018 at Xiaocuo, a fishing village of 8,000 people. A broken hose caused 69 tonnes of toxic C9 aromatic solvent to leak into the nearby ocean. 

Dozens of people were hospitalised after the spill and seafood farms were hit hard. 

Fujian Donggang Petrochemical tried to hide the scale of the accident and lied to the authorities when reporting the amount of leaked chemicals. When the deception was revealed, eight people, including the general manager of the firm, were arrested for their roles in the incident and cover-up. Several government officials were sacked for negligence. 

As China’s chemical industry grows rapidly, a string of chemical accidents, including the Tianjin chemical blast in 2015 that killed 165 people, have prompted authorities to improve legislation and risk-management at chemical plants across the country. 

Read our reporting on the Xiaocuo toxic spill and how the small coastal village struggled to recover.