DuPont Gets Go-ahead on Titanium Dioxide Plant, but Triggers Concerns – Southern Weekend

 Dy C 2007-12-20 U2181P1T1D14564675F21Dt20071220103128Environmental concerns have to fight against the lure of new jobs and GDP numbers. Again the green camp seems to be failing, this time against multinational chemical firm DuPont. Translated by CDT from Southern Weekend:

The numbers are so enticing: 500 million yuan in tax revenue a year from next year on, 600 new jobs created, plus the investment in local infrastructure such as roads. And these are some solid promises of DuPont, who is setting up a mega titanium dioxide plant in Dongying (东营) City in Shandong Province. With this site, and with overwhelming support from local officials, the chemical multinational will have an easy marriage with the loose environmental regulation in China, where it can pump the potentially hazardous waste thousands of meters underground beneath the Yellow River delta, a national park area.

But there’s a problem: DuPont is bringing a relatively backward technology to its China plant, whose output will dwarf that of any domestic competitor. Environmentalists accuse DuPont of using a production technique based on a much higher polluting and energy-guzzling material, or low-grade titanium feed. Some raise alarms that when the toxic waste gets injected underground, it will be extremely difficult to reverse the damage, which includes possible radiation.

Despite all these concerns, and despite DuPont’s historical record of failing to dump this low-end technique on Taiwan more than 20 years ago, China’s authorities have flashed a green light this time. [Full Text in Chinese]



[Image: Titanium Dioxide]

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