Watchdog to inspect lead-related companies
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Shanghai Daily, September 18, 2011
Shanghai's environment watchdog will carry out inspections into 17 lead-related companies and those that fail the safety checks will be shut down by the end of this month.
The inspections will cover the discharge of pollutants, the range affected by pollutants and the environmental quality in the surrounding area of each company.
A database will be set up by the watchdog before Tuesday to manage the companies' operations, according to the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau, which issued a notice on its website on Friday.
The notice was released after production at a battery manufacturing plant in Pudong New Area was halted because dozens of children living nearby were found to have high levels of lead in their blood.
The plant run by US-based Johnson Controls, the discharger of lead in Kangqiao Area in Pudong, was shut down on Wednesday. Shanghai Xinmingyuan Automobile Accessory Co, which is in the same area, was ordered to cease lead-related operations.
According to the environment watchdog, 25 children living in Kangqiao have been detected with excess levels of lead in their blood.
Companies that fail requirements on standards for environmental protection, facility safety or employee health will be forced to halt production, the notice added. Companies that are found emitting excessive quantities of pollutants will be shut down and they will not be able to resume operations until they pass inspections, the notice said.
