A chemical producer in central China's Hubei Province was fined 200,000 yuan (about US$29,000) for discharging highly-toxic wastewater into a Yangtze River tributary.

The Hubei Kexing Medical and Chemical Co. Ltd. was one of the Xiangfan City's 13 heavy polluters and was previously ordered to overhaul its operations and relocate from the riverbank, said Wang Lei, vice director of the city environment protection bureau, on Tuesday.

The company defied the orders and resumed production without approval on October 8, discharging unprocessed wastewater into the Hanjiang River, a major tributary of the Yangtze, he said.

An excessive amount of cyanide was found in about 2,100 sqm of water near the company's limber hole. At least 100 dead fish were salvaged from the polluted area.

Environment workers acted quickly and managed to contain the pollution less than 10 hours after its occurrence, Wang said.

The pollution didn't affect drinking water supply as the company was located about 5 km downstream from the nearest tap water source of the city, he added.

Wen Ningan, the company's vice general manager, has been put into detention for 15 days.

The company mainly produces chemicals for pharmaceutical use.

(Xinhua News Agency October 15, 2008)