China’s chemical plant begins shutdown process amid protests

With the stop-production procedures now in effect,no more raw materials have gone onto the production line,government-run Xinhua news agency reported.

More than ten thousand residents in coastal Dalian city took to the streets on Sunday,demanding that the plant be relocated over concerns of potential toxic chemical leaks.

“It’s a time bomb,” said one of the protesters,surnamed Wang.

Calls to relocate the plant mounted after large waves whipped up by tropical storm Muifa breached a dike near the plant earlier this month. The dike was built to protect the plant from floodwaters.

Residents have been concerned that a flood could damage the plant and cause it to release toxic chemicals.

The plant,one of China’s largest PX producers,went into operation in 2009 and is capable of producing 700,000 tonnes of the compound annually.

The plant contributes 2 billion yuan (about USD 311 million) to the local government in taxes every year. PTI KJV

The government will release the final decision about the plant in one or two days,the authorities added.

The controversial Fujia petrochemical plant in China’s northeast Liaoning province,n which had been ordered to shut down after mass protests over pollution concerns,began the process to halt production,officials said today.

Although the order to stop production “immediately” was issued on Sunday by municipal authorities,the intricacies of the production cycle meant that it could not stop directly due to safety concerns.

With the stop-production procedures now in effect,no more raw materials have gone onto the production line,government-run Xinhua news agency reported.

More than ten thousand residents in coastal Dalian city took to the streets on Sunday,demanding that the plant be relocated over concerns of potential toxic chemical leaks.

“It’s a time bomb,” said one of the protesters,surnamed Wang.

Calls to relocate the plant mounted after large waves whipped up by tropical storm Muifa breached a dike near the plant earlier this month. The dike was built to protect the plant from floodwaters.

Residents have been concerned that a flood could damage the plant and cause it to release toxic chemicals.

The plant,one of China’s largest PX producers,went into operation in 2009 and is capable of producing 700,000 tonnes of the compound annually.

The plant contributes 2 billion yuan (about USD 311 million) to the local government in taxes every year. PTI KJV

The government will release the final decision about the plant in one or two days,the authorities added.

The controversial Fujia petrochemical plant in China’s northeast Liaoning province,n which had been ordered to shut down after mass protests over pollution concerns,began the process to halt production,officials said today.

Although the order to stop production “immediately” was issued on Sunday by municipal authorities,the intricacies of the production cycle meant that it could not stop directly due to safety concerns.

With the stop-production procedures now in effect,no more raw materials have gone onto the production line,government-run Xinhua news agency reported.

More than ten thousand residents in coastal Dalian city took to the streets on Sunday,demanding that the plant be relocated over concerns of potential toxic chemical leaks.

“It’s a time bomb,” said one of the protesters,surnamed Wang.

Calls to relocate the plant mounted after large waves whipped up by tropical storm Muifa breached a dike near the plant earlier this month. The dike was built to protect the plant from floodwaters.

Residents have been concerned that a flood could damage the plant and cause it to release toxic chemicals.

The plant,one of China’s largest PX producers,went into operation in 2009 and is capable of producing 700,000 tonnes of the compound annually.

The plant contributes 2 billion yuan (about USD 311 million) to the local government in taxes every year. PTI KJV

The government will release the final decision about the plant in one or two days,the authorities added.

The controversial Fujia petrochemical plant in China’s northeast Liaoning province,n which had been ordered to shut down after mass protests over pollution concerns,began the process to halt production,officials said today.

Although the order to stop production “immediately” was issued on Sunday by municipal authorities,the intricacies of the production cycle meant that it could not stop directly due to safety concerns.

With the stop-production procedures now in effect,no more raw materials have gone onto the production line,government-run Xinhua news agency reported.

More than ten thousand residents in coastal Dalian city took to the streets on Sunday,demanding that the plant be relocated over concerns of potential toxic chemical leaks.

“It’s a time bomb,” said one of the protesters,surnamed Wang.

Calls to relocate the plant mounted after large waves whipped up by tropical storm Muifa breached a dike near the plant earlier this month. The dike was built to protect the plant from floodwaters.

Residents have been concerned that a flood could damage the plant and cause it to release toxic chemicals.

The plant,one of China’s largest PX producers,went into operation in 2009 and is capable of producing 700,000 tonnes of the compound annually.

The plant contributes 2 billion yuan (about USD 311 million) to the local government in taxes every year. PTI KJV

The government will release the final decision about the plant in one or two days,the authorities added.

The controversial Fujia petrochemical plant in China’s northeast Liaoning province,n which had been ordered to shut down after mass protests over pollution concerns,began the process to halt production,officials said today.

Although the order to stop production “immediately” was issued on Sunday by municipal authorities,the intricacies of the production cycle meant that it could not stop directly due to safety concerns.

With the stop-production procedures now in effect,no more raw materials have gone onto the production line,government-run Xinhua news agency reported.

More than ten thousand residents in coastal Dalian city took to the streets on Sunday,demanding that the plant be relocated over concerns of potential toxic chemical leaks.

“It’s a time bomb,” said one of the protesters,surnamed Wang.

Calls to relocate the plant mounted after large waves whipped up by tropical storm Muifa breached a dike near the plant earlier this month. The dike was built to protect the plant from floodwaters.

Residents have been concerned that a flood could damage the plant and cause it to release toxic chemicals.

The plant,one of China’s largest PX producers,went into operation in 2009 and is capable of producing 700,000 tonnes of the compound annually.

The plant contributes 2 billion yuan (about USD 311 million) to the local government in taxes every year. PTI KJV

The government will release the final decision about the plant in one or two days,the authorities added.

The controversial Fujia petrochemical plant in China’s northeast Liaoning province,n which had been ordered to shut down after mass protests over pollution concerns,began the process to halt production,officials said today.

Although the order to stop production “immediately” was issued on Sunday by municipal authorities,the intricacies of the production cycle meant that it could not stop directly due to safety concerns.

With the stop-production procedures now in effect,no more raw materials have gone onto the production line,government-run Xinhua news agency reported.

More than ten thousand residents in coastal Dalian city took to the streets on Sunday,demanding that the plant be relocated over concerns of potential toxic chemical leaks.

“It’s a time bomb,” said one of the protesters,surnamed Wang.

Calls to relocate the plant mounted after large waves whipped up by tropical storm Muifa breached a dike near the plant earlier this month. The dike was built to protect the plant from floodwaters.

Residents have been concerned that a flood could damage the plant and cause it to release toxic chemicals.

The plant,one of China’s largest PX producers,went into operation in 2009 and is capable of producing 700,000 tonnes of the compound annually.

The plant contributes 2 billion yuan (about USD 311 million) to the local government in taxes every year. PTI KJV

The government will release the final decision about the plant in one or two days,the authorities added.

The plant is a producer of PX,a carcinogenic petrochemical used to create raw materials for the production of polyester film and fabric.

The PX plant is not horrible in itself but the critical issue is that the management,quality safeguard and risk control departments in the plant in Dalian are far below standards,said petrochemical industry insiders on the condition of anonymity,the report said.

Since June 2009,Dalian residents have occasionally gathered in the city’s square to protest the local government’s move to accept the plant,after the coastal cities of Shanghai,Xiamen and Qingdao had all rejected it due to environment concerns.

Internet users in Dalian complained on Monday on the Chinese Twitter-like service Sina Weibo that “as a beautiful coastal city like Xiamen and Qingdao,Dalian is not suitable for new chemical factories.”

Protestors on Sunday said that Dalian would be ruined if there was a major accident at the plant.

The decision of Dalian government to shut down and relocate the Fujia chemical plant eased the citizens’ tension to some extend.

But they still worry about the undisclosed relocation timetable and where will the factory be located,the report said.

An oil pipeline exploded near a Dalian crude oil storage port in July last year.

The explosion caused an oil spill of at least 60,000 tonnes,contaminating the sea waters which may need decades to recover its ecosystem.

The explosion gave Dalian people an unprecedented warning.

A municipal government official said it was fortunate for Dalian that the explosion did not ignite the PX and crude oil storage tanks nearby.

The highly centralised layout of plants,especially those which is so close to the city,will no doubt seriously affect the urban environment.

However,the issue was apparently not one of the local government’s priorities,the report said.