Chinese firms fined $12 million for polluting river

A court in eastern China today upheld a decision to slap $12-million fine on three chemical firms for disposing 26,000 tonnes of hazardous waste into rivers.

The Hangzhou Intermediate Court in Zhejiang Province said in a statement that it has upheld the ruling of a lower district court on the Second Chemical Plant of Jiande City, the Hong'an Cargo Company and the Rongsheng Chemical Company.

The Second Chemical Plant mainly produces weed-killer glyphosate.

From 2012 to 2013, it asked the Hong'an Cargo Company and the Rongsheng Chemical Company to help pour waste into rivers in Zhejiang provincial capital Hangzhou, the province's Quzhou City and in Jiangxi and Shandong provinces.

Neither of the companies was licensed to dispose of dangerous waste, according to the court.

The Zhejiang environmental protection research institute estimates that as much as 80 million yuan ($12.3 million) will be needed to repair the damage to the rivers.

Ten people, including heads of the three companies, were sentenced to jail terms ranging from nine years to one year and 10 months, and fined a total of 8.5 million yuan, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.