General manager of a chemical firm accused of leaking 2,000 tons of alkaline wastewater into a northwest China river has been removed from post, local environmental protection watchdog announced Sunday.

Wang Zengzhan, general manager of the Jintai Chlorine and Alkaline Chemical Co. Ltd. in Mizhi County, Yulin City of Shaanxi Province, was removed from his post on Friday according to a decision made by the company authorities, according to the Yulin City Environmental Protection Bureau.

Other company staff responsible for the accident will also face corresponding punishment as investigation ends, sources with the bureau said.

The chemical firm was ordered to suspend operation and take measures to renovate wastewater discharge system within a set timelimit.

The spill occurred on February 4 when three of the company's processing tanks collapsed, discharging about 2,000 tons of alkaline waste into the Wuding River.

Several processing tanks had shown signs of leakage ten days prior to the incident, but the company failed to report it to local environmental protection officials, the bureau said.

The Wuding River was badly polluted, but the spill did not serious affect the quality of the drinking water, the bureau said.

(Xinhua News Agency February 20, 2006)