A Chinese solar panel company has apologized for a devastating toxic spill at one of its manufacturing plants in August and vowed to clean up the pollution after four days of protests outside its headquarters. According to reports, solid waste contaminated with high levels of fluoride leaked from a plant owned by JinkoSolar Holding Company in Haining, located about 80 miles southwest of Shanghai, and was swept into a nearby river by heavy rains on Aug. 26. Residents say the pollution caused a massive fish-kill in the river, and that pigs whose sties were washed with river water also died. Following a four-day protest that at times became violent, a JinkoSolar spokesman admitted that the incident occurred and vowed “appropriate” steps to clean up the contamination. “We cannot shirk responsibility for the legal consequences which have come from management slips,” the spokesman, Jing Zhaohui, told a news conference. The demonstrations in response to the spill are the latest example of growing public outrage
over pollution in China. Last month, thousands of demonstrators forced the closure of a paraxylene plant in northeastern China’s Dalian.
Chinese Solar Company Vows Toxic Cleanup After Four-Day Protest
More From E360
-
INTERVIEW
Marina Silva on Brazil’s Fight to Turn the Tide on Deforestation
-
Solutions
Solomon Islands Tribes Sell Carbon Credits, Not Their Trees
-
INTERVIEW
With Sea Turtles in Peril, a Call for New Strategies to Save Them
-
RIVERS
Jared Kushner Has Big Plans for Delta of Europe’s Last Wild River
-
Energy
A Nuclear Power Revival Is Sparking a Surge in Uranium Mining
-
OPINION
Despite Official Vote, the Evidence of the Anthropocene Is Clear
-
INTERVIEW
At 11,500 Feet, a ‘Climate Fast’ to Save the Melting Himalaya
-
Oceans
Octopuses Are Highly Intelligent. Should They Be Farmed for Food?
-
Climate
Nations Are Undercounting Emissions, Putting UN Goals at Risk
-
Solutions
As Carbon Air Capture Ramps Up, Major Hurdles Remain
-
ANALYSIS
How China Became the World’s Leader on Renewable Energy
-
Biodiversity
As Flooding Increases on the Mississippi, Forests Are Drowning