【Haichuan Chemical Salary Updates】No substantive progress has been made in reducing phosphogypsum in Mianyang, according to the Fifth Central Ecological and Environmental Inspection Team

Subsequently, Mianyang City formulated a rectification implementation plan, which explicitly called for prioritizing the improvement of phosphorus chemical enterprises and phosphogypsum storage sites in Anzhou District, strictly controlling the construction of new, renovated, or expanded projects in the phosphorus-related industry, improving the systems for collecting washing water and initial rainwater at all key phosphorus-related industrial enterprises, implementing measures to prevent seepage, wind damage, and flooding at phosphorus-related mine tailings sites and deposit areas, and promoting the installation of automatic online monitoring devices for total phosphorus levels. However, even after this follow-up inspection, no substantial progress has been made in reducing phosphogypsum on both sides of the Ganhezi River in Anzhou District; the environmental problems associated with the phosphogypsum piles remain severe, and water pollution in the surrounding area is serious. The inspection team stated that it will further verify the situation, and in cases of negligence or failure to fulfill responsibilities, as well as environmental violations by the enterprises, it will require local authorities to take appropriate action in accordance with laws and regulations.

However, even after this follow-up inspection, no substantial progress has been made in reducing phosphogypsum on both sides of the Ganhezi River in Anzhou District; the environmental problems associated with the phosphogypsum piles remain severe, and water pollution in the surrounding area is serious. The inspection team stated that it will further verify the situation, and in cases of negligence or failure to fulfill responsibilities, as well as environmental violations by the enterprises, it will require local authorities to take appropriate action in accordance with laws and regulations. Wu Shunze, director of the Center for Environmental and Economic Policy Research at the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, believes that environmental issues are essentially economic issues, as well as social and political issues. Environmental issues must be integrated into **the entire decision-making process and all its stages**, so that the public can have clear expectations and effectively supervise **companies**. In the future, central ecological and environmental inspections will be carried out more thoroughly, further driving high-quality economic development.

In the past 5 years, less than 20% reduction in phosphogypsum has been achieved. Investigations by the inspection team revealed that four phosphorus-based chemical enterprises in Anzhou District, Mianyang City—Jinhong Feed, Lulin Chemical, Shenlong Heavy Industry, and Chuan Yin Chemical—have failed to properly fulfill their responsibilities for pollution control. Measures to prevent accidents, fires, and leaks at the phosphogypsum storage sites have not been implemented for a long time; efforts to reduce the amount of phosphogypsum are insufficient, and pollution problems remain unresolved. This has led to significant environmental safety risks, prompting strong complaints from the local population. Not only that, but since 2017, these four companies have been reported by the public 18 times due to environmental issues, and have been subject to administrative penalties 11 times for environmental violations; it can be said that they keep repeating these offenses despite being investigated and forced to make corrections. According to the inspectors, there are 4 calcium hydrogen phosphate production enterprises in the Ganhezi basin of Anzhou District. By the end of 2014, approximately 2.6 million tons of phosphogypsum had been accumulated there, all of which was stored in open pits on both sides of the Ganhezi river.

The Phosphogypsum Reduction Plan for Anzhou District in 2014 stipulated that all phosphogypsum generated in a given year must be utilized within that same year; moreover, at least 20% of the phosphogypsum accumulated over previous years should be processed each year, with all such accumulated phosphogypsum to be dealt with by the end of 2018. ” However, the inspection revealed that efforts to reduce phosphogypsum in Anzhou District have progressed slowly; no additional efforts were made even after the feedback from the first round of central environmental inspections, and no substantial progress was achieved in reducing phosphogypsum. As of October this year, approximately 2.1 million tons of phosphogypsum remain in storage; in nearly 5 years, only about 500,000 tons have been reduced, resulting in a reduction rate of less than 20%.

The deadline for making corrections keeps being postponed, and efforts to address the issue are perfunctory. In September of this year, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment conducted on-site inspections and found that large amounts of phosphogypsum were still stored in open areas along the Ganhezi River in Anzhou District. The necessary measures for prevention were not in place; leachate and washing wastewater were discharged directly through rainwater drains without any treatment, and the devices designed for collecting leachate were essentially useless. In response, Anzhou District issued a revised rectification plan, proposing to complete the implementation of the \"three-prevention\" measures for the phosphogypsum storage site by October 20, 2018. It was not until this review that Anzhou District rushed to organize the covering of the phosphogypsum piles; environmental issues such as an excessively large operating area at the piles, inadequate anti-seepage measures, and severe uncontrolled emissions still existed. Furthermore, monitoring data show that from January to September this year, the total phosphorus levels in both groundwater and surface water surrounding the phosphogypsum dumps along the Ganhezi River in Anzhou District were generally above the acceptable limits, with fluoride levels also exceeding the standard to varying degrees.

Among them, in March this year, the total phosphorus concentration in groundwater exceeded the limit by 11.1 times, while in September the fluoride concentration in groundwater exceeded the limit by 1.45 times. The comprehensive water quality category at the exit section at Lianghekou in Ganhezi was Class III in 2016, dropped to Class IV in 2017, and declined to Sub-Class V from January to September 2018, showing a continuous deterioration in water quality. The inspector believes that the Party committees at the Mianyang city and Anzhou District levels, as well as ** and its relevant departments, have not given sufficient attention to the work of implementing the inspection recommendations, and have shown signs of dereliction of duty. Mianyang City **has not carried out any research, made arrangements, or conducted inspections regarding the environmental issues related to phosphogypsum in Anzhou District. The Municipal Economic and Information Commission, as the department responsible for addressing these issues, has failed to provide adequate guidance and supervision for the rectification efforts in that district.

Furthermore, the Anzhou District Party Committee and the district authorities failed to properly advance the work related to the management of phosphogypsum. Although a special task force was established and responsibility agreements were signed with phosphorus chemical enterprises, no substantive progress was made in this regard; the deadlines for making corrections kept being postponed, and perfunctory actions were taken instead. Departments in Anzhou District such as those responsible for industry and information technology, environmental protection, and land management have failed to effectively supervise phosphorus chemical enterprises; they prefer to impose fines rather than take proper regulatory actions, which results in environmental problems within these enterprises remaining unresolved for long periods. Yang Xiaodong, general manager of Beijing Jingcheng Jiayu Environmental Technology Co., Ltd., told Economic Observer Network that only by giving equal emphasis to supervising enterprises and governments, and by enforcing strict accountability to create an invisible pressure and a strong deterrent, will local authorities and relevant departments refrain from being lazy or negligent in their duties. Regarding issues such as perfunctory rectifications in various regions, central ecological and environmental inspections should be carried out continuously, rather than being a short-term effort.

In the 1980s, Yinghua Town in Shifang City established chemical enterprises by leveraging the phosphate mineral resources available in the area. After more than 30 years of development, the solid waste phosphogypsum generated in the production of phosphate fertilizers and phosphoric acid has accumulated in increasing amounts, forming gray \"mountains\" in the area. In March 2017, the Shifang Municipal Party Committee and government made a firm decision to address the environmental problems caused by phosphogypsum. After more than a year of measures such as reinforcement to prevent seepage and landscaping, the phosphogypsum dump, which once had a severe impact on the villagers’ lives, has transformed into a popular recreational spot. The image shows villagers dancing in the square on a previously unused site that has been renovated, over the weekend.