Pollution protests continue at China solar plant

Protests have continued at the solar plant in east China's Zhejiang Province.  Hundreds of locals are protesting at the Zhejiang Jinko Solar company alleging that the factory was polluting both the air and local rivers.

The New York-listed company had its premises attacked, with protesters overturning cars in the factory car park following an initial demonstration by residents in the nearby village of Hongxiao who demanded an explanation for the deaths of a large number of river fish.

While Xinhua reported that there had been no official comment from the factory it quoted Chen Hongming, a deputy head of Haining's environmental protection bureau, who said the factory's waste disposal had failed the pollution tests since April.

The environmental watchdog has warned the factory, but it had not effectively controlled the pollution, Chen added.

The company produces mono- and multi-crystalline photovoltaics panels, cells, and wafers, from two factoroes in eats China which it sells worldwide. It employs more than 10,000 people in two factories in east China. 

In a separate incident in Shanghai on Friday, two factories in the east of the city were ordered to close temporarily amid lead poisoning fears. The Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau said in a statement that a "small amount of children living in the Kangqiao area... were found to have excessive levels of lead in their blood in early September".

The factories affected include a large lead-acid battery plant operated by Shanghai Johnson Controls International Battery Company - a unit of the New York-listed industrial giant Johnson Controls. The company suspended production at the site and said it was co-operating with the authorities.