Major environmental pollution case in Shandong goes to trial: Thousands of tons of hazardous waste dumped; four people die on the spot.

　　Four men died from accidental poisoning, exposing the shadowy web of interests behind the illegal discharge of hazardous waste in Zhangqiu City, Shandong Province. According to a report by the Procuratorate Daily on September 2, on September 1, the Zhangqiu City People’s Procuratorate filed public prosecution—on charges of environmental pollution—against 17 defendants, including Zhou Caixia and Wang Haiyang, as well as two corporate defendants, Shandong Hongju New Energy Co., Ltd. and Shandong Linfeng Chemical Technology Co., Ltd. The “10.21” major environmental pollution case in Zhangqiu has once again drawn widespread public attention.
　　Illegal dumping of toxic waste resulted in the on-the-spot deaths of four people.
　　At around 6:00 a.m. on October 21, 2015, a major environmental pollution incident occurred in a courtyard in Shanggao Village, Pují Town, Zhangqiu City, resulting in the on-the-spot poisoning and death of four individuals suspected of illegally discharging hazardous waste.
　　Police promptly established an expert task force to launch an investigation. By verifying the identities of the four suspects—Zhang Linde, Chen Jixin, Dou Zhixing, and Lu Tong—who died at the scene, and by analyzing and cross-referencing their discarded mobile phones, vehicles, and other belongings, authorities ultimately determined that the hazardous waste originated from Shandong Jincheng Heavy Oil Chemical Co., Ltd. in Zibo City (hereinafter referred to as Jincheng Company).
　　It turned out that, on the day before the incident—October 20—some waste alkali had been generated in Jincheng Company’s production workshop. The staff contacted Zhou Caixia, an administrative clerk at the supplier company, to arrange for its disposal. Zhou Caixia then reached out to intermediary Wang Haiyang. Wang Haiyang, in turn, enlisted Yin Keke to handle the matter, and the two agreed on a processing fee of 300 yuan per ton. After finalizing the price, Yin Keke approached Guo Sibin, who coordinated with Zhang Linde to oversee the disposal and simultaneously arranged for a hazardous‑materials transport vehicle—driven by Dou Zhixing and accompanied by a safety escort, Lu Tong—to carry out the operation. Zhou Caixia subsequently issued a loading manifest for the vehicle.
　　On the night of October 20 through the early hours of October 21, the vehicle entered the plant with a loading manifest to load waste alkali, transporting 23.72 tons to an abandoned coal mine leased by Chen Jixin. There, the waste alkali was discharged into the mine shaft, seeping into the ground. During the disposal process, Chen Jixin, Zhang Linder, Dou Zhixing, and Lu Tong inhaled excessive amounts of toxic volatile gases, resulting in fatal poisoning.
Illegally discharging one ton of waste yields a profit of just over one hundred yuan.
　　Following the incident, local police focused on several intermediary contacts as key leads and intensified their efforts to gather evidence. They discovered that these individuals were not only illegally discharging waste chemical raw materials within a single village but were also secretly carrying out such discharges in an abandoned mine shaft located in Ma’an Village, Shuangshan Subdistrict, Zhangqiu City. The case ultimately implicated seven enterprises engaged in illegal, unauthorized discharge of chemical waste—five based within the province and two from outside it (which have already been handed over to the relevant local authorities for further action).
　　It has now been determined that, between July 2015 and October 2015, Zhang Lindé (deceased), in pursuit of personal gain, either directly or through individuals such as Yin Keke, Guo Sibin, He Chenghai, and Li Wanzhen, contacted the aforementioned companies to arrange for the treatment of hazardous waste, using the leased premises of Chen Jixin and Qu Guangqiang as the disposal sites.
　　Upon investigation, it was found that, in order to reduce hazardous waste‑treatment costs by RMB 3,000 to 6,000 per ton, the companies involved hired personnel to illegally discharge hazardous acidic and alkaline liquids at a price of RMB 300 to 500 per ton. After deducting transportation expenses, the intermediaries and those carrying out the illegal discharges earned only slightly over RMB 100 per ton, yet their actions gravely jeopardized environmental safety.
　　Over 1,000 tons of waste were illegally dumped, resulting in ecological and environmental damage exceeding RMB 200 million. Investigations revealed that between July 2015 and October 2015, five enterprises within the province collectively discharged 1,181.72 tons of waste alkali and waste acid into the Zhangqiu area.
　　Ten months have now passed since the perpetrators last illegally discharged pollutants. Following harmless treatment by the environmental protection authorities, no trace of contamination remains at the two discharge sites; however, the infiltration of strong alkali and strong acid has caused irreversible damage. According to an assessment by a specialized agency, the environmental damage in Shanggao Village comprises over 43 million yuan in emergency response costs and nearly 200 million yuan in ecological and environmental restoration costs. In Ma’an Village, emergency response expenses amount to 560,000 yuan, while ecological and environmental restoration costs total more than 6.2 million yuan.
　　It is reported that, earlier this year, domestic environmental organizations filed an environmental public-interest lawsuit with the Intermediate People’s Court of Jinan City, Shandong Province, seeking compensation from several companies implicated in the case—namely Shandong Hongju New Energy Co., Ltd. and Shandong Linfeng Chemical Technology Co., Ltd.—to cover ecological restoration costs arising from the illegal dumping of hazardous waste that has harmed the environment, with the funds earmarked for restoring the locally polluted ecosystems.