Guangzhou promises swift action against waste dumping

Relevant departments from Huangpu district in Guangzhou, the Guangdong provincial capital, have established a special task force and launched a thorough investigation after it was reported a famous food company is discharging industrial waste into a local river, causing the death of fish, shrimp and other aquatic animals, earlier this month.

Guangzhou Want Want Food Ltd denied the allegations in a written statement issued on Monday. The company said it would cooperate with relevant departments to investigate the case further.

A joint group was immediately sent to the scene for a field investigation when the city's river management office and related departments received reports from locals that waste was being discharged into Yonghe river in Huangpu district at about 6 pm on Oct 18, according to a report from Guangzhou Daily on Tuesday.

"Law enforcement personnel smelt the terrible odor along the river and found many dead fish, shrimp and other aquatic animals," Guangzhou Daily said.

Initial investigation indicated Guangzhou Want Want Food Ltd was illegally dumping the waste water into the river.

"Tests of the water showed two pollutants were present at 80 and 200 times the standards, seriously endangering the ecological safety of river water," the newspaper reported.

The Huangpu district government has promised to investigate the case to its fullest extent and punish those who pollute.

The district has also started a campaign to investigate illegal discharges to prevent similar cases from taking place again.