Chemical plant shut in China after protests

Authorities in a northeastern Chinese port city ordered a petrochemical plant be shut down after more than 12,000 people demonstrated over pollution concerns, state media said.

Officials also pledged Sunday to relocate the Fujia chemical plant from Dalian city, the Xinhua News Agency said.

The move came after scuffles broke out earlier in the day between riot police and more than 12,000 protesters demanding that the plant be moved after a tropical storm raised fears of a toxic spill, Xinhua said. No injuries were reported in the confrontations.

The petrochemical plant produces the chemical paraxylene, or PX.

Calls to relocate the plant grew after waves from Tropical Storm Muifa broke a dike guarding it last week and raised fears that flood waters could release toxic chemicals. Xinhua said no chemical leaks had been reported.

Paraxylene is widely used in the production of polyester. Short-term exposure can cause eye, nose or throat irritation in humans, and chronic exposure can affect the central nervous system and cause death.

Despite the apparent success of the protest, censors quickly began deleting references to it on social networking sites — a usual practice to prevent demonstrations from spreading.

A video posted on the microblogging site Weibo showed the city's top official, Tang Jun, standing on a police van trying to appease the crowd.

Xinhua said Tang and Mayor Li Wancai promised to move the plant out of the city, but some protesters refused to budge until a timetable was given.

A statement posted on the website of the State Council, China's Cabinet, on Monday said the Dalian Communist Party and city government decided Sunday to "stop the Dalian PX project immediately and relocate the plant." The statement was taken down one hour later.

Xinhua reported that the municipal committee of the Communist Party and the government ordered an immediate shutdown.

In 2007, plans for another paraxylene plant in the city of Xiamen in southeastern China provoked protests from residents worried about health hazards. In 2009, the Environment Ministry said it would be built instead in a less populated area of another southeastern city, Zhangzhou.
On Friday, the Zhangzhou government said that a paraxylene plant is expected to be completed there by the end of this year and will start operating early next year.

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