英语新闻丨County officials sacked for river pollution

The Party secretary, environmental protection chief and a leading official in charge of water resources in Quanjiao county, Anhui province, have been removed from their positions for river pollution that sparked widespread criticism.

安徽省全椒县党委书记、环保局长和一名负责水资源的主要官员因引发公众普遍指责的河流污染事件被免。

After a recent fire at a petroleum additive company in the county, polluted water flowed into the Chuhe river, a joint investigation team said in a statement issued on Wednesday morning.

5月29日上午，联合调查组发布声明称，该县一家石油助剂公司最近发生火灾后，受污染的水流入了滁河。

The Chuhe is a tributary of the Yangtze River.

滁河是长江的支流。

The team was formed by the provincial government and the provincial discipline inspection and supervision authorities, Anhui Daily reported.

据《安徽日报》报道，该团队由省委省政府和省纪检监察机关组成。

The pollution led to mass fish deaths in the section of the river passing through the city of Chuzhou and in its lower reaches in Nanjing, the capital of neighboring Jiangsu province, media outlets reported.

据媒体报道，污染导致流经滁州市的江段及其下游江苏省省会南京市的大量鱼类死亡。

Dou Ping, who was director of the county's ecology and environment bureau, told China Central Television the bureau had not checked the toxicity of the water used in fighting the fire that had leaked into the river after the fire was put out "because there was no need to do so".

该县生态环境分局局长窦平告诉中国中央电视台，该局没有检查灭火用水的毒性，因为“没有必要做”。灭火用水在灭火后泄漏到河里。

"People can be killed after drinking too much Moutai (liquor). If somebody dies from drinking Moutai, should anybody test the toxicity of the alcohol?" Dou said in the interview, which was broadcast on Monday.

“喝茅台也能喝死人。喝死人以后，需要对茅台做毒性分析吗？”窦平在5月27日播出的采访中说。

Yang Jun, a senior official with the county's water resources bureau, told CCTV he was not too concerned about the incident as he was due to retire in two months.

该县水利局党组成员杨俊告诉中国中央电视台，他并不清楚这一事件，他将在两个月后退休。

Videos of the comments by Dou and Yang have gone viral online since Tuesday.

自5月28日以来，窦平和杨俊的采访视频在网上大量传播。

Both Dou and Yang have been removed from their posts, the county government said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

县政府在5月29日发布的声明中称，窦平和杨俊已被免职。

The investigation team's statement said the county's Party secretary, Yang Guang, had also been removed from the position and probes targeting other personnel were underway.

调查组的声明称，该县县委书记杨光也被免职，针对其他人员的调查正在进行中。

The provincial authorities organized a conference on handling the incident on Tuesday afternoon, which was attended by top officials including the province's Party secretary and governor.

5月28日下午，广东省政府组织了一次处理事故的会议，包括省委书记和省长在内的省领导出席了会议。

It called for quick and scientific handling of pollution remediation and the punishment of officials who were at fault according to related regulations and laws.

会议要求迅速和科学地处理问题，并根据相关法规和法律对有过错的官员进行处罚。

In November, the provincial governments of Anhui and Jiangsu signed an agreement on a cross-region mechanism for the protection of the Yangtze River basin's aquatic environment.

11月，安徽省和江苏省政府签署了一项关于长江流域横向生态保护补偿机制的协议。

Under the agreement, the water that flows from Anhui to Jiangsu is subject to periodic assessments. If the quality reaches agreed standards, Jiangsu compensates Anhui for expenses incurred to protect the environment. Otherwise, Jiangsu is compensated to subsidize its additional costs in treating polluted water.

根据协议，从安徽流入江苏的水要接受定期评估。如果质量达到约定的标准，江苏将补偿安徽为保护环境而支出的费用。否则，江苏将获得补偿，以补贴其处理污水的额外成本。

pollution remediation

污染修复

periodic assessments

定期评估