Multinationals in China Cited for Pollution Water Rules Violated By 34 Concerns, Says
An Institute's Study
BEIJING -- A study by a Chinese environmental organization found that more than 30 multinational companies with operations in China have violated water-pollution-control guidelines.
Thirty-four foreign-owned or joint-venture companies -- including Panasonic Battery Co., PepsiCo Inc. and Foster's Group Ltd. -- were reported to have caused water pollution by regional and national government agencies, according to an investigation of public records conducted by the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs.
The institute, a domestic nongovernmental organization that is focusing on water pollution, found violations by about 2,700 companies throughout the country on the Web sites of local and national environmental-protection bureaus.
The study comes at a time when environmental issues, and particularly water quality, are moving to the front of China's political agenda. Much of the country's recent social unrest has been motivated by pollution issues. Government data show that more than 300 million people, almost a quarter of the population, lack access to clean drinking water and more than half of the major waterways are badly polluted. Last year, China had to apologize to Russia after it failed to warn Moscow of a huge toxic spill in the Songhua River -- caused by a blast at a petrochemical plant -- that crossed the border. In August, China's leaders pledged $125 billion to fix the country's water problems.
While the multinational companies weren't among the worst violators, Ma Jun, the institute's founder, said he was surprised that multinational companies were listed. "We're not talking about very high standards," said Mr. Ma, an author who has worked as an environmental consultant for multinationals. "These companies are known for their commitment to the environment."
More than half of the multinational offenders are in Shanghai, where Mr. Ma said environmental-protection officials are more open to disclosing the violations. But differences in the transparency among different regional agencies could mean there are many more violators that have gone unreported, he said.
The institute's study was published by China's semiofficial Xinhua news agency. Government officials said in the Xinhua report that some international companies relax their environmental standards in China, mainly because some local governments set loose requirements in order to attract foreign investment.
In addition to discharging illegal amounts of toxins into local rivers, violations between 2004 and 2006 included misuses of water equipment, uncontrolled releases of polluted water and continuing operations without passing equipment inspections.
PepsiCo's bottling plant in Changchun, part of Jilin Province, was listed as discharging illegal amounts of polluted water in 2005 on the local environmental-protection bureau's Web site. But company officials said the citation wasn't a problem with polluted water, but a pipe that cracked during the winter of 2004 from the cold temperatures in Jilin.
"Environmental protection is one of the principles of...PepsiCo," said PepsiCo's public-affairs director, Lu Jin. Since then, Mr. Lu said, Changchun Pepsi has invested six million yuan, or about $760,000, to renew the wastewater-treatment facilities with the approval and supervision of local environmental officials.
Australian beer maker Foster's Group Ltd., which has since sold its Shanghai brewing business and local Chinese beer brands to Suntory Ltd., was listed as having a water pollution-related violation, but company officials said they had no record of any complaints. "We weren't informed of anything before [we sold the business]," said company spokesman Troy Hey. "We've had a clean record" while the company operated in Shanghai.
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.'s subsidiary in Shanghai, Panasonic Battery Co., was also listed as discharging polluted water over the permitted standard. Company spokesperson Wang Ge said an employee was cleaning a battery container at a water-discharge outlet by accident, causing chemical oxygen demand (COD) levels, a common index of water quality, to go beyond the normal standard.
Mr. Wang said it was a coincidence that Shanghai officials were inspecting the company that day, and they fined the company 30,000 yuan. "There have been no other fines except for this. After the incident, we improved our internal management and we've been requesting self-examinations of water discharge every week," Mr. Wang said.
多家跨国公司被指违反中国环保法规
中国一个环保组织的研究发现，有30多家在华经营的跨国公司违反了中国的水污染控制法规。
公众与环境研究中心(Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs)在调查中发现，包括松下电池有限公司(Panasonic Battery Co.)、百事公司(PepsiCo Inc.)和Foster's Group Ltd.在内的34家外资或合资企业都曾被中国的地方或中央政府认定应为某项水污染问题负责。
这家机构是一个关注水污染问题的非政府组织，它发现中国国家和地方各环保局的网站共披露了约2,700起企业违反环保法规的案件。
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这项研究是在环境问题，尤其是水质问题正日益在中国的政治议程中占有突出地位之际进行的。中国近来出现的大多数社会不稳定因素都发端于污染问题。政府数据显示，中国约有3亿人缺乏清洁的饮用水，占全国总人口的近四分之一，同时中国一半以上的主要河流污染问题严重。去年，中国因未及时向俄罗斯通报一起化工厂爆炸导致大量有毒物质泄入松花江的事故而向俄方做了道歉。中国领导人今年8月份时承诺，将投入1,250亿美元来解决水污染问题。
公众与环境研究中心的创办人马军说，虽然跨国公司在违反中国的环保法规方面不是最严重的，但他却对这些公司“榜上有名”感到吃惊。曾经给跨国公司担任过环境咨询师的马军说：“我们并非在谈论一些非常高的标准，这些公司都知道它们对环境所承担的义务。”
公开披露的跨国公司环境违规案件一半以上出现在上海，马军说上海的环保官员对于披露这类违规案件持更为开放的态度。但他表示，各地曝光的跨国公司环境违规案件在数量方面存在巨大差距意味着，还有许多此类违规案件没有被披露。
中国半官方机构新华社发布了这家机构的研究结果。新华社在报导中援引中国政府官员的话说，一些跨国公司在华经营时降低了自己的环保标准，这主要是因为一些地方政府为了吸引外资而放松了环保要求。
除了向河流中超标排放有毒物质外，2004至2006年期间的环境违法案件还包括污水处理设备使用不当、无节制排放污水以及企业在环保设备不达标的情况下继续运营等。
吉林省长春市环保局的网站披露，百事公司在该市的罐装厂2005年曾超标排放污水。但该公司管理人士称，这件事并非是该公司有意排放污水，而是该公司那家罐装厂的一条污水管在2004年冬天被冻裂导致的。
百事中国投资有限公司公共事务部总监卢劲说，保护环境是百事公司的一项经营原则。他说，自长春那起污水超标排放事故发生以后，百事公司已在长春投入了人民币600万元（76万美元）来更新污水处理设施，这一工作是在当地环保部门的批准和监督下进行的。
澳大利亚啤酒生产商Foster's Group Ltd.在被披露存在水污染问题后已将其在上海的酿酒业务以及它在中国注册的啤酒品牌出售给了三得利股份有限公司(Suntory Ltd.)，但该公司管理人士说没人告知他们违反了中国的环保法规。该公司发言人特洛伊?海伊(Troy Hey)说：“（在我们出售这项业务前）没人通知过我们这件事，公司在上海的经营纪录是清白的。”
松下电器产业公司(Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.)在上海的子公司松下电池有限公司也上了污水超标排放企业的名单。该公司发言人Wang Ge说，这起事故是由该公司一名员工错误地在一个排水口边清洗蓄电池箱引起的，这一过错导致公司所排污水的COD指标（化学需氧量）超过了正常水平。
Wang Ge说，发生这件事时碰巧上海市的环保官员正来该公司检查，公司因此被罚款人民币3万元。他说，除此之外松下电池有限公司再没被罚过款，此事发生后公司改进了内部管理工作，坚持每周都对污水排放问题进行自查。
Loretta Chao / Shai Oster
