Uncommon Thought Journal: China's Toxic Spills - A New Chapter In An Old Story

November 25, 2005

China's Toxic Spills - A New Chapter In An Old Story

On November 22,2005, the BBC reported that Harbin, China was shutting off its water supply for four days. While the official story from Chinese authorities was that the water mains needed maintenance, this was a cover up for an explosion at a ChinaPetro (a large private subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation - CNPC - as part of China's restructuring of state-owned industries) chemical plant in Jilin, China. The explosion at the plant happened on November 13th, but was not admitted to for more than a week. The head of Communist Party in Jilin, and PetroChina, have apologized for the spill. PetroChina has started digging wells and brining in water for Harbin. Now a second chemical plant explosion (and this article) in the opposite end of the country has occurred (Yingte chemical plant in Chongqing in southwest China). There have been massive benzene releases from both explosions.

The original explosion released an 50 mile long slick with about 100 tons of benzene and nitobenzene into the Songhua river. The Songhua supplies most of the drinking water for Harbin (population 4 million), but also flows into the Amur river which flows into Russia. The spill is going to hit Khabarovsk, and Russia is cutting off its water system as well. About 1.5 million people live in and around Khabarovsk. This brings the reported total of those impacted by the carcinogenic spill to 5.5 million, but the total must be far higher than that. It is 120 miles from Jilin to Harbin, and 440 miles from Harbin to Khabarovsk (date & time.com). The potentially impacted populations and environments are huge. You can get some idea of the impacts by looking at map of the Songhua River from Encarta, and by taking a flying trip using Google Earth (must download) from Harbin, China to Khabarovsk, Russia and beyond. The Amur River is one of the principal rivers in the world and flows into the Gulf of Amur, and the Amur estuary - both of which have unique forest resources.

But the impacts of the benzene spill, and its coverup, are not the only unsavory actions of PetroChina and of China National Petroleum Corporation. They are directly implicated in the exploitation of resources and suppression of the people in Tibet, and up to their necks in the genocide in Darfur, Sudan Ethical Consumer).

Much more attention has focused on their responsibility for the Darfur genocide because of Harvard University's decision to divest itself of PetroChina's stock. China has been selling weapons to the government and Arab militia in Darfur - apparently to clear access to CNPC's and PetroChina's oil investments in the area. CNPC/PetroChina's oil holdings in the Sudan represent more than half of their international holdings.

Nat Hentoff of the Village Voice wrote two recent articles about oil and investing in the Sudan and the links to the Darfur genocide. In an article from 10/18/05 - Financing Mass Murder, Hentoff discusses how China has blocked UN sanctions against China, and directly funded the genocide:

"The dominant and most ruthless international player in Sudan's oil sector," Reeves writes, is "China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). After Goldman Sachs failed in 2000 to secure a $10 billion Initial Public Offering for CNPC, the Wall Street firm created a so-called financial 'cut-out,' which became the new entity 'PetroChina.' . . . Wholly controlled and 90 percent owned by CNPC, it lists on the New York Stock Exchange."
The companies of other nations, in addition to China, that invest in Sudan "accept payment [from Khartoum] in the form of Khartoum's petrodollars - revenues raised from oil development projects located almost exclusively in southern Sudan . . . "

When you read about Khartoum's helicopters bombing villages in Darfur as a prelude to the murderous raids by the Arab Janjaweed, who are often accompanied by official Khartoum troops, you may not have realized that, as Eric Reeves continues:

"Khartoum's extensive military purchases, especially over the last half-dozen years, have been made possible by virtue of realized and anticipated oil revenues. These purchases include many of the helicopter gunships that have been deployed to such deadly effect against civilians in both southern Sudan and Darfur. A measure of the profligacy of Khartoum's military purchases can be seen in the recent completion of a deal with Russia for 10 MiG-29s—one of the most advanced fighter aircraft in the world."

In Hentoff's second article - Oil Fuels Genocide (10/15/05) - he reports that U.S. public pension plans hold about $91 billion in businesses operating in the Sudan.

How much does PetroChina (or any other transnational corporation) care about the "downstream" effects of a carcinogenic spill when they are willing support outright genocide to protect and advance their holdings and investments. Is it really any surprise that the government of China would act to coverup the Jilin spill? Is that any more egregious than other nations, including the U.S. acting to protect the interests of their own pet corporations? This is the way that "business" and politics work. It is not particularly new, but it is pernicious. Governments and corporate (and state) media operate to cover the atrocities and activities. People die, natural environments are destroyed, to ensure a profit and a market. The money of consumers underwrites to human and natural disasters and all goes on as planned.

One does not have to look very far to see this happening, and know that it is not just a "few bad apples." In the United States alone, we are seeing a number of these deadly collusions come to light:
- the FDA and big pharma;
- the Bush Administration and big oil (energy policy, uncompetitive practices, false shortages, ANWR, Katrina, and Iraq);
- the Enron scams.

This is the way it works, and it works with the unwitting collusion of people who would never knowingly contribute to the destruction and exploitation being practiced. If we don't like the way it works, then we need to change the way it works, and that means being more than activist consumers and investors. Corporations need to be brought to heel and they need to get their hands out of the pockets of government - all governments. We are dealing in a world of transnational corporations who have extended their reach to all types of governments. If we want to stop the process we need to change the dynamics. China got caught lying to protect big oil. Well guess what, Bush and Cheney got caught lying to protect them as well.

We need a new story. It is not going to be written by so-called "global leaders," and it is not going to be published by the corporate press. It has to be the people who throw off the yoke of exploitation and deceit. It has to be the people who write the new story.

Related Articles
The Spill
11/25/05 BBC, Toxic spill to hit Russian city

11/25/05 Guardian, 100 tonnes of pollutants spilled into Chinese river

11/25/05 Geoffrey York, Globe & Mail, Millions scramble for water in Chinese city

11/25/05 Al Jazeera.net, Health fears over China toxin spill

11/25/05 David Lague, NY Times, China Blames Oil Company for Benzene Spill in River

11/26/05 The Age, China blast spews chemicals into water supply

11/25/05 BBC, Toxic spill to hit Russian city

11/24/05 Guardian, Polluted water reaches Chinese city

11/22/05 BBC, Water shortage panics China city

The Second Spill
11/26/05 Herald Sun, Second spill hits Chinese

11/25/05 Daily Telegraph, Woman killed in new chemical blast

Coverup and Genocide
11/25/05 Financial Times, China's toxic cover-up