Text / Li Zijian

Editor/Luy

Before going out, 55-year-old Liu Jing put on a "gas-proof" mask that covered half of her face. Wearing a "gas-proof" mask in the hot summer is really a helpless move. The pungent odor in the air is so unpleasant that she has to wear a mask to go out.

Liu Jing's family lives in a community in Longgang District, Huludao City. She moved to live here in 2016. Since then, she will smell a variety of pungent odors in the air from 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., killing insects. The smell of drugs, heavy metals, and sometimes almonds. "It felt like someone was pinching me, and there was always a foreign body sensation in my throat."

Looking for the source of the odor, Liu Jing found that these pungent odors came from factories near where they lived. Liu Jing was in good health before. After moving to her current place of residence, she often had a sore throat and was particularly uncomfortable. She suffered from pharyngitis, eczema and other diseases. She believes that these are all "effects of air pollution on me."

In this regard, Liu Jing and other people from Huludao began to reflect the problem through various channels. As the air problem in Huludao has gradually become a hot topic of public opinion, after attracting attention, the local public responded that special law enforcement actions have been carried out against odor-related companies. Among the 21 companies inspected, 4 are suspected of illegal issues such as excessive emissions, and have been filed for investigation and punishment .

Smelling the pungent odor of the chemical factory, I began to get sick for no reason

Liu Jing was afraid of the smell in the air after finding a black foreign object in her nose.

She remembered that day was July 3 this year. At 9 o'clock in the evening, when she lay down on her back and was about to go to bed, she felt a foreign body flowing from her nose into her throat. When I pulled it out, I saw that it was a black thing, the size of a small fingernail, and it was covered with a white film, and it shattered when I twisted it in my hand.

She quickly went to a hospital in Huludao for examination. During the consultation, the doctor accidentally learned that she lives in Longgang District, and said, "The air in your area is not good, so pay attention to protection in the future." The doctor could not say what the specific disease was, but only prescribed medicine for rhinitis and pharyngitis.

After returning home, Liu Jing took her medicine on time, but she never got better. She remembered the doctor's warning that the air was not good, and wondered if the foreign body in her nose had something to do with the chemical company near her home. The community where Liu Jing lives is relatively close to Liaoning Shixing Pharmacy Co., Ltd. and can be reached by bicycle in 10 minutes.

The black foreign body in Liu Jing's nose was broken into several pieces with a twist (photo courtesy of the interviewee)

According to public information, the company was founded in 1992 and was formerly known as Huludao Pharmaceutical Chemical Factory. It is a professional manufacturer of pharmaceuticals, pesticides, dye intermediates and fragrances. It is worth noting that in the list of key enterprises for special rectification of sulfur dioxide in the urban area of Huludao City in 2021, Shixing Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. is on the list.

Liu Jing said that in addition to Shixing Pharmacy, there are several other companies nearby that emit pungent odors. There are vegetable markets, kindergartens, schools, etc. near the community where she lives. Although the pungent smell is pungent, her complaints to the relevant departments have been fruitless and helpless.

Since moving to the current community in 2016, Liu Jing found that almost every night from 11:00 p.m. to about 1:00 a.m., she could smell a variety of pungent odors in the air, similar to the smell of insecticide Liuliu powder and heavy metals. Sometimes it smells like almonds.

Since then, Liu Jing has to close the window every day when she goes out, but the pungent smell can still get in through the gap in the window. Every time I come home from get off work and open the door, I will smell the smoky odor. To this end, she bought masks and industrial dust masks successively, which were used as "gas-proof" masks.

After returning home, Liu Jing could not take off her mask. She believed that the odor in the air contained substances invisible to the naked eye and would fall on furniture and the ground. Therefore, she will wipe the furniture surface first, and then use the mop to mop the floor. After cleaning the room, she was lying on the bed wearing a mask and had to wait for about an hour before getting used to the peculiar smell in the room. "When I came home from get off work and smelled the pungent air, I was in a particularly bad mood, which was unbearable."

Before moving to this community, Liu Jing was healthy and had no illness. After moving, she suffered from pharyngitis, eczema, rhinitis and other diseases. Especially since May 2021, her throat is always uncomfortable. Every time she takes a breath, her throat hurts, as if someone is pinching her throat, and she always feels a foreign body. It was not until she went to the hospital for examination and was reminded by the doctor that the air in the living area was not good, that she noticed that her illness might be related to long-term exposure to odors.

The 42-year-old Li Qiang and his wife work in other places all the year round. Two years ago, they brought their children back to Huludao to study. Li Qiang lives 6 kilometers away from the north of Beigang Industrial Zone. The first time he smelled the pungent smell was when the south wind was blowing, and there was a strange smell similar to Liuliu powder in the wind.

Li Qiang didn't care at first, and only closed the window when the smell appeared. Until a year and a half later, he found that after getting up every day, his throat felt particularly uncomfortable, as if it was on fire. "I always want to cough, my throat is tight and dry, and I feel that there is something in my throat."

To his surprise, his wife also developed similar symptoms, and then the child kept coughing during this period.

Before settling in Huludao, the family of three had never had similar symptoms, which made him suspect that it was caused by air problems. He searched online and found that when many people in Huludao talked about the impact of air problems on some diseases, they would mention a number of companies in the Beigang Industrial Zone. Li Qiang decided to go to the field to find the source of the odor.

At 10 a.m. on July 4, Li Qiang and a friend who was also concerned about the air issue in Huludao went to Beigang Industrial Zone together. After entering the park, he found that the pungent smell made it impossible for him to breathe normally. Even if he wore an N95 mask, he could still smell a strong smell of Liuliu powder.

Walking around the Beigang Industrial Zone, Li Qiang and his friends came to the beach not far away, and found the sewage outlets of many enterprises, and sewage was flowing out from more than 20 pipes. They smelled a strong and pungent odor and scooped up the water with their hands. The smell gradually dissipated on their hands two days later.

This field investigation experience convinced Li Qiang that his and his family's pharyngitis, sore throat, cough and other symptoms were directly related to the pollutants discharged by the enterprises in the park.

The sewage channel photographed in Li Qiang's field investigation (photo courtesy of the interviewee)

The blue sky that used to be gone, the pungent air makes people unable to breathe

Li Ming, 60, was born, went to school and worked in Huludao, Liaoning Province, and has been living in the city for 60 years. He lives in Longgang District, Huludao City, which is about 5 kilometers away from Beigang Industrial Zone. There are many enterprises producing chemical and pesticide products in this industrial zone.

Li Ming's unit is located in the north of the industrial area, and his home is in the south of the industrial area. No matter if the south wind or north wind blows, he can always smell a strong odor that pierces his throat and makes it almost impossible to breathe. In summer, no matter how hot the weather is, Li Ming does not dare to open the window. He thinks this is a kind of air pollution, which "makes people unable to breathe normally."

But when Li Ming was a child, the natural environment of Huludao was good, and people would never dare to open the windows. In his memory, the sky in Huludao was blue and the sea was clear. But now, Li Ming sometimes goes to climb mountains and stands on the top of the mountain, only to see Huludao shrouded in smoke, "Your vision is very blurred, you can't see (the city) clearly."

Liu Jing also remembers that the clouds floating in the sky of Huludao 20 years ago were white, but the air now is disappointing. She sometimes sets out from Huludao to other places, and only after half an hour's drive can she see the blue sky.

Li Ming recalled that there was a zinc production enterprise in Huludao, and the smoke emitted had a strong and pungent sulfuric acid smell, which was almost unbearable. The locals named it "sulfuric acid smoke". Later, residents reported to the relevant departments many times that after the rectification, the emission of this enterprise was reduced, and the "sulfuric acid smoke" was improved to a certain extent, but the pungent smell could still be smelled, but it was weaker than before.

Many interviewees said that among many enterprises in Beigang Industrial Zone, Shixing Pharmaceutical Chemical has the most serious smell. After March 2022, the pungent smell will become heavier, and the surrounding Longgang District Wanghaisi Street and Beigang Street will be the most affected.

Liu Zhi lives in the street area of Wanghai Temple. After the doors and windows were closed, the pungent odor could seep in, triggering a violent cough, he said. Driving to and from get off work and passing by a company that emits odors, the smell is stronger, and you can smell it with the windows closed. Wearing a two-layer mask does not work at all, and you also need an N95 mask in the car.

The "gas-proof" mask that Liu Jing wears when she travels (photo courtesy of the interviewee)

In the past, Liu Zhi had always maintained the habit of running in the morning. Since July last year, he has given up running.

"Clean air is something that concerns future generations. We cannot just focus on development and put people's lives and health aside." Liu Zhi and other interviewees have reported their problems to the local environmental protection department and the 12345 hotline many times. It is reported that in late May 2022, after the local ecological environment bureau investigated the odor-related enterprises in Longgang District and Beigang Industrial Zone, it was found that there were two main sources of odor: one is the odor caused by the accumulation of hazardous wastes, and the other is Beigang, Beigang and Beigang. Waste gas emitted by chemical companies in the Longgang area.

Among them, Xingming Environmental Protection, which has accumulated hazardous waste, has been suspending production since the fire in the hazardous waste warehouse on July 31, 2021, until early March 2022, when the company started the self-disposal of hazardous waste in stock after the accident. Because the disposal process may cause intermittent volatile gases to escape, causing odors in the surrounding air. In mid-April, after the company stopped self-disposal, the Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau found that there was still an odor around the hazardous waste storage tank during inspection. In May, a comprehensive inspection also found that the temporary storage of hazardous waste was not tightly closed, resulting in the collection of volatile organic compounds. The problem of poor operation of the treatment device requires rectification.

The investigation also found that enterprises involved in exhaust gas emissions in the Beigang Development Zone and its surrounding areas produced peculiar smells. The Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau established a special law enforcement class to strictly investigate and deal with illegal problems such as excessive discharge of air pollutants and abnormal operation of pollution prevention and control facilities.

However, the results of this survey were not recognized by some local residents.

Some people choose to move away from Huludao, while others stay and hope to solve the air problem

Chen Le, 39, lives in the Wanghaisi area of Huludao City. Looking out from the balcony of his house, he can see the huge chimney of the Huludao Zinc Factory not far away. At home, he could smell sulfuric acid, as well as oxidized metal.

Beigang Industrial Zone is directly north of Chen Lejia, about 3 kilometers in a straight line. When the north wind blows, the strong odor can still be smelled even if the windows are closed. He had to replace the windows with better sealing. On the Kumho Road, which he must pass to work, he can smell the pungent smell at a distance of ten kilometers.

From the balcony of Chen Lejia, you can see the chimneys of enterprises in the industrial zone (photo courtesy of the interviewee)

Chen Le also saw the results of the local survey on odor-related companies. But after the announcement, he could still smell the pungent smell. To this end, he complained to many local departments, and the relevant staff replied: There was a fire in the relevant enterprise before, and the related odor-producing things were buried later.

Chen Le does not agree with this explanation. He reported to the staff of the environmental protection department that the odor problem still existed, and it would be clear as long as he came to the site to take a look, but the staff member did not agree with Chen Le's opinion.

To this end, Chen Le also went to the area where the odor was emitted on-site to find the source of the odor. He locked the locations of odor-related enterprises such as Xianda Agriculture and Huludao Zinc Factory, and passed relevant information to the local environmental protection department. What response do you get.

Until the afternoon of July 5, Huludao City held a press conference on the progress of air pollution prevention and control, saying that since late May, some citizens have reported the problem of "air odor in the Huludao area". The Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau attaches great importance to it and immediately organizes relevant Departments, law enforcement officers, experts, third-party agencies, public security and environmental protection formed a special law enforcement class to carry out special law enforcement actions against odor-related enterprises in Longgang District, Huludao Economic Development Zone, and high-tech industrial parks, covering 21 key gas-related enterprises .

Up to now, 21 companies have been inspected and 31 problems have been found. Among them, 4 companies suspected of illegal emissions such as excessive emissions have been filed for investigation and punishment; for other problems, companies have been ordered to rectify quickly, and 24 problems have been rectified. According to the data analysis of the pollution source online monitoring platform, the special law enforcement action has achieved remarkable results. At present, 21 key management and control enterprises have achieved a 100% emission rate through online monitoring.

Through the recent comprehensive inspection of Longgang District, Huludao Economic Development Zone, and high-tech industrial parks, it is basically determined that the main source of regional odor problems is the chemical industry enterprises such as hazardous waste disposal and pesticide intermediates in Huludao Economic Development Zone.

In the next step, the city's ecological environment law enforcement department will target several key enterprises involved in odor, implement point-to-point precise control, strictly investigate and punish the illegal behavior of enterprises, require enterprises to formulate rectification plans for environmental problems, and immediately implement rectification measures, and strive to control in the shortest time. Odor work is more effective.

Chen Le's field investigation and shooting of sewage outlets (photo courtesy of the interviewee)

Chen Le, Li Qiang and others have also seen some media reports on odor-related incidents, and they hope this move will be effective. But some people chose to leave because they couldn't stand the odor. Liu Jing is one of them. She decided to move out immediately after finding a suitable place to live.

Li Qiang is also considering moving. In order to prevent the air odor from affecting the health of the whole family, he bought three air purifiers and placed one in each room. Even so, Li Qiang believes that this is only a temporary method. From a long-term consideration, moving is a rational choice. However, due to the problem of the children going to school, he decided to wait and see for a while after discussing with his wife. If the air quality does not improve, "I will definitely leave Huludao."

A close friend of Li Ming left Huludao three years ago because of the bad air, and his family moved to Dalian. The friend advised Li Ming to leave too, but Li Ming shook his head and refused. He feels that moving is not a solution to the problem. "We love Huludao and hope that the air problem can be solved and more people can stay."