2014-09-10
Smoke is discharged from chimneys at an oil refining and chemical plant in China’s Shandong province, Feb. 9, 2014.
ImagineChina
Residents of the central Chinese province of Henan are stepping up pressure on local authorities over pollution from a chemical plant near their homes after hundreds of people gathered outside government offices in protest over “foul smells” in their neighborhood.
The chemical plant in Henan’s Huojia county, near Xinxiang city, has been churning out “stinking gases” for years, prompting mounting anger among the local population, residents said on Wednesday.
“It is polluting the air. You can [smell it],” one resident said.
A Huojia resident surnamed Zhang said a number of chemical plants are likely responsible for the odors, which prompted a demonstration outside the Huojia county government headquarters on Tuesday.
“Stinking gases have been coming from there for years now, and some of the local people went to the county government to kick up a fuss,” Zhang said.
“No one who lives in the county’s town area wants this,” he said.
One resident who joined the protest on Tuesday said local people had held up banners outside the gates of the government building complaining about the smell, blocking the street outside.
“Some of the homeowners got a bit excited and were taken away by police,” the resident, who declined to give his name, said.
“I don’t know exactly how many, nor for how long, nor whether they have since been released,” he said.
He said local online chatrooms have been silent on the topic since Tuesday’s protest.
“No one’s saying anything on my QQ group now. They are being put under pressure, so they won’t speak out.”
LNG supplier
Meanwhile, some residents have singled out liquefied gas company Languang, saying it is located in a densely populated area, near a kindergarten.
“This company, Languang Gas, supplies Jinan city with liquefied natural gas (LNG),” a resident living near the gas plant told RFA.
“If the gas were to explode, the consequences would be terrible, with a population of around 100,000 people living all around it,” he said.
