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Pharmaceutical companies probed over pollution

Xinhua, January 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

Three pharmaceutical companies in north China's Hebei Province are under police investigation after media accused them of pollution offenses, local authorities said Friday.

Currently, they have all been ordered to suspend production, and members of the company's senior management are under police supervision, the Shenzhou City publicity department said in a statement.

China's state broadcaster CCTV reported Thursday that Wanjia Biotechnology Co. Ltd. a veterinary drug manufacturer, illegally dumped liquid waste into the Changtou Village irrigation canal.

Villagers said the company has operated for more than two decades, and it had been infamous for dumping waste illegally, said CCTV.

Also in Shenzhou, another company named Shuoteng (Shenzhou) Veterinary Health Products allegedly dries and releases waste into the air, CCTV quoted an employee as saying.

The third company under scrutiny is the Shenzhou branch of Hebei Jiheng (Group) Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., which is located in Xijingyin Village.

CCTV said its owner could not give a straight answer about how it disposes of its liquid waste. Many local residents complain about a "lingering sour smell".

The local environmental protection agency and public security bureau are handling the cases.

Hebei is under pressure to cut its emissions and address pollution. It had seven of the 10 most polluted cities in China in the first half of 2014, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection. Endi