PetroChina given biggest ever pollution fine
文章来源: 文章作者: 发布时间:2007-01-26 05:47 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Jan.26 - China's top environment watchdog has fined the Jilin Petrochemical Company, a subsidiary of PetroChina, the maximum 1 million yuan (125,000 U.S. dollars), for seriously polluting the Songhua River.

 

An explosion at the company's chemical plant in northeast China's Jilin Province in November 2005 dumped about 100 tons of waste containing benzene into the nearby Songhua River.

 

The incident forced cities along the river, including Harbin, capital of northeastern Heilongjiang Province downstream, to cut water supplies to 3.8 million people for several days.

 

Under Chinese law, companies can only be fined a maximum of 1 million yuan (125,000 U.S. dollars) for causing pollution.

 

The State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) found the company guilty of contravening1 the Environmental Protection Law and two articles of the law on Prevention and Control of Water Pollution.

 

The incident triggered the resignation last year of China's former environmental chief Xie Zhenhua.

 

As well 10 executives of PetroChina have received demerits on their personal record, including Duan Wende, senior vice2 president PetroChina.

 

SEPA has rarely applied3 the heaviest penalty to companies that cause pollution, Thursday's China Youth Daily reported.

 

Experts argued that the fine was inappropriately low considering the losses caused by the incident.

 

Professor Wang Jin from the Peking University filed a lawsuit4 one month after the incident, demanding compensation of 10 billion yuan (1.25 billion U.S. dollars) from the company to restore the environment.

 

The case was not accepted by the court, but sparked discussions over who should foot the bill for cleaning up the environment. The government spent huge sums during the pollution crisis and on the clean-up.

 

It again highlighted an embarrassing situation for China's environmental protection departments which are constrained5 by the current legal and policy system, the newspaper said.

 

The Environmental Protection Law has not been changed since 1989. Many complain it is too "soft" with fines that are too low and local environmental watchdogs have few teeth.

 

Some companies find it is cheaper to pay a fine than it is to improve their pollution controls, the report said.

 

In addition, companies can be fined only once for a particular pollution incident in a certain period, prompting experts to call for a system under which companies can be fined for each day they violate pollution laws.

 



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 contravening dd6de4aa2ef1977b08e11c9bdf36a5cb     
v.取消,违反( contravene的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The company was found guilty of contravening safety regulations. 那家公司被判违反了安全条例。
  • You are contravening the regulations. 你违反了规定。 来自辞典例句
2 vice NU0zQ     
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的
参考例句:
  • He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
  • They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
3 applied Tz2zXA     
adj.应用的;v.应用,适用
参考例句:
  • She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
  • This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。
4 lawsuit A14xy     
n.诉讼,控诉
参考例句:
  • They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
  • He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。
5 constrained YvbzqU     
adj.束缚的,节制的
参考例句:
  • The evidence was so compelling that he felt constrained to accept it. 证据是那样的令人折服,他觉得不得不接受。
  • I feel constrained to write and ask for your forgiveness. 我不得不写信请你原谅。
TAG标签:
发表评论
请自觉遵守互联网相关的政策法规,严禁发布色情、暴力、反动的言论。
评价:
表情:
验证码:点击我更换图片