The Beijing that Olympic Visitors did not See : The Part of Beijing
Immersed in Stink -- Large Environmental Protest in Beijing

Large Environmental Protest in Beijing
Epoch Times Staff Sep 1, 2008

http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/images/stories/large/2008/09/01/biggerprot.jpg
A mass demonstration in Beijing’s Chaoyang District protests
environmental pollution. (Internet User)

On August 30, only one week after the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, there
was a mass demonstration in Beijing’s Chaoyang District protesting
environmental pollution. Traffic in some areas was blocked for more than
three hours. Many policemen were sent to the scene and protesters were
beaten up.

Many bloggers on Boxun.com were complaining of the large garbage
disposal plant in the Changying and Guangzhuang areas of the Chaoyang
District of Beijing. The plant employs a rubbish incinerator to burn
garbage, resulting in a foul smell in these areas. Fumes from the plant
contain large quantities of dioxin―a carcinogen believed to raise the
risk of cancer by as much as 40 times.

About one million area residents have been appealing to local
authorities for years, but have been unable to make any progress. Even
worse, the Beijing authorities are now constructing new apartment
buildings just 550 yards south of the garbage disposal facility.

Experts describe dioxin as a kind of colorless, tasteless, yet severely
refractory toxin. It has been called the “poison of the century” and has
banned as a persistent organic pollutant by the Stockholm Convention.

http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/images/stories/large/2008/09/01/traffic.jpg
Traffic was blocked for more than three hours because of the large scale
demonstration. (Internet User)

Studies have found it to be 100 times more toxic than potassium cyanide
and 1,000 times more than arsenic. According to statistics from experts
in Tokyo, 80 percent of dioxin is generated through incineration.

Epidemiogical studies conclude that over time, exposure to dioxin will
cause soft tissue tumors and lymphatic cancer. It is a very stable,
fat-soluble compound, but extremely difficult to dissolve in water.
Because of its persistence, dioxin will accumulate into the fatty tissue
once it enters a living organism, and it is nearly impossible to clean
up once it has polluted an area.

This pervasive substance can even invade a fetus through the mother’s
placenta, leading to widespread miscarriages or serious birth defects.

Residents are appalled at the authorities’ decision to build such a
large garbage disposal plant in such a densely populated urban area.
Many say the authorities don’t care about the people’s health and safety
as evidenced in their plans to build more housing right near the
polluting facility.

Last Updated
Sep 1, 2008