The State Council has named a senior executive of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and environmental officials held responsible for an explosion in a chemical plant that led to severe pollution in the Songhua River in northeast China's Jilin Province in November last year.

 

The incidents have already triggered the resignation of China's former environmental chief Xie Zhenhua.

 

According to a State Council document made public on Friday, Duan Wende, deputy general manager of state-owned CNPC and senior vice president of New York and Hong Kong-listed PetroChina Company Limited, received a "demerit" on his personal record.

 

Nine other executives, including Yu Li, board chairman and general manager of the Jilin branch of PetroChina, and Shen Dongming, head of the Shuangben Chemical Plant of the Jilin branch, received disciplinary punishments ranging from serious warnings to demotions and dismissal.

 

Wang Liying, director of the Jilin provincial environmental protection department, received a "serious demerit" on his record. Wu Yang, director of the Jilin city environmental protection bureau, received an administrative warning.

 

A State Council investigation team blamed "negligence" for the Nov. 13 explosion, which it rated a "very serious production safety accident", and the Songhua River pollution, described as a "very serious water pollution incident".

 

The nitrobenzene fractionating tower of a chemical plant in the Jilin branch of PetroChina Company Limited, controlled by CNPC, exploded on Nov. 13 last year. The accident killed eight people and injured 60 others and caused 69.08 million yuan (about US$8.74 million) of direct economic losses.

 

According to the investigation report, the explosion occurred because the operator failed to observe operating rules on the nitrobenzene fractionating tower.

 

The accident exposed a lack of attention to safety management at the Jilin branch and the chemical plant, says the report.

 

The plant had no contingency measures to prevent pollutants from flowing into the Songhua River in case of an accident. When the explosion occurred, it failed to adopt timely and effective measures to prevent the leak of chemicals into the Songhua River.

Earlier news reports said around 100 tons of pollutants containing hazardous benzene spilled into the Songhua River. Tap water supplies to millions of residents along the river were suspended for several days. Russian residents downstream of the incident were alarmed.

 

The investigation report also spelled out the responsibilities of other parties to the pollution incident.

 

It says the Jilin branch and the chemical plant failed to carry out an in-depth study of possible pollution of the Songhua River and contingency plans were seriously flawed.

 

Jilin city emergency rescue headquarters underestimated and failed to seriously consider water pollution. It failed to request the establishment of prevention and control measures.

 

CNPC and PetroChina are criticized for failing to take adequate environmental precautions at the Jilin branch, underestimating water pollution and failing to react rapidly to the crisis.

 

The Jilin city environmental bureau is blamed for failing to get the city's emergency rescue headquarters to take urgent measures.

 

The Jilin provincial environmental department is blamed for failing to file complete and accurate reports of the degree of water pollution, and its general lack of attention to water pollution.

 

In the primary stage of the incidents, the State Environmental Protection Administration underestimated the seriousness of the situation and failed to give timely instructions on how to manage it.

 

In the document, the State Council ordered managers and business leaders at various levels to wise up to production safety and environmental protection and beef up management of hazardous chemicals and environmental supervision.

 

It also ordered the revision of design regulations for oil and chemical plants, and set a deadline for the improvement of crisis management measures. At that date, the discharge of water used to clean accident scenes will become illegal.

 

The chemical plant explosion and Songhua River pollution incidents are being seen as landmark events in China's often faltering performance in environmental protection.

 

The seriousness of the pollution, which received wide and intensive media coverage, has put pressure on the government to do more to protect the environment, crack down on environmental transgressions and punish irresponsible officials and unscrupulous business leaders.

 

(Xinhua News Agency November 25, 2006)