These blue plastic buckets have been transferred to Guxingzhuang transfer station, covered with plastic sheets, and have a warning sign of "Do not approach danger". (Photo by Xu Hui)
Cctv news(Reporter Xu Hui) On July 28th, 41 blue plastic buckets were discarded next to Guxingzhuang Village in Gaoyi County, Hebei Province. An old man who scavenged garbage transported seven of them home, but they were poisoned, and they are still not completely out of danger. At present, Gaoyi County Branch of Shijiazhuang Environmental Protection Bureau has sampled and tested the materials in the barrel and the soil on site, and is working out a disposal plan. The local police have also filed a case to investigate the source of this batch of dangerous waste.
The poisoning of the old scavengers has not been out of danger so far.
According to the doctor, the dimethyl sulfate inhaled by Li Kaoyu has caused damage to the respiratory mucosa and lungs, and it is still not completely out of danger. (Photo by Xu Hui)
72-year-old Li Kaoyu is a five-guarantee household in Wancheng Village, Wancheng Town, Gaoyi County, Hebei Province. In her spare time, she picks up garbage to exchange money.
On August 6, the old man was lying in the hospital bed of Gaoyi County People’s Hospital, coughing and spitting. "Now my throat is still uncomfortable and it is difficult to breathe." Li Kaoyu said.
Recalling the scavenger hunt on July 28th, he found many blue plastic buckets along a sheltered path in the southwest corner of Guxingzhuang Village, and some buckets were still labeled with the words "dimethyl sulfate". However, Li Kaoyu shipped seven plastic buckets back to his home in order to get some money.
Li Kaoyu introduced that some barrels contain less liquid, while others contain a lot. When he was sorting out the plastic buckets, liquid suddenly gushed out of one of them and sprayed on his face. "The smell of the liquid was very strong. At that time, I couldn’t open my eyes and couldn’t breathe."
Afterwards, Li Kaoyu was sent to Gaoyi County People’s Hospital for assistance, and was transferred to the intensive care unit of the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University due to his serious illness. On the evening of August 3, Li Kaoyu returned to Gaoyi County People’s Hospital for further treatment.
Xin Wang, a doctor at Gaoyi County People’s Hospital, said that it is now treated according to dimethyl sulfate poisoning. "The elderly have lung and respiratory injuries, and the lungs still have wet rales and pneumonia symptoms. Now it cannot be said that they are completely out of danger."
It is also known that in the process of Li Kaoyu picking up the plastic bucket, a villager surnamed Guo who helped to carry it also had a poisoning reaction, but it was no serious problem after treatment.
The police filed a case to trace the source of hazardous waste.
The plants at the hazardous waste disposal site have dried up. (Photo by Xu Hui)
On August 6, the reporter saw at the scene where the blue plastic bucket was discarded in Guxingzhuang Village that the leaves and stems of many surrounding plants had dried up, plastic gloves and many black liquids were left on the scene, and hundreds of corn plants in the nearby farmland had dried up.
Li Guopeng, director of Gaoyi County Branch of Shijiazhuang Environmental Protection Bureau, said that the local emergency plan has been launched after it was found that someone discarded hazardous waste. A total of 41 plastic buckets were counted and discarded in Guxingzhuang Village. On July 29th, these plastic buckets have been moved to a safe place for temporary storage.
"At that time, we invited experts to sample and test the contents of the barrel and the soil on site, and the results showed that it contained dimethyl sulfate." Li Guopeng said that at present, we are looking for a company with professional qualifications to sample and test, and then formulate a plan to deal with these hazardous wastes.
It is understood that dimethyl sulfate is an organic compound, colorless or yellowish, oily flammable liquid with a slight onion smell. Dimethyl sulfate is highly toxic, which has strong irritation to eyes and upper respiratory tract and strong corrosion to skin.
According to Li Guopeng, on July 28th, two hazardous waste dumping incidents occurred in Gaoyi County, and the other occurred in the Sino-Korean rural section of Gaoyi, National Highway 107. Empty paint buckets, paints and bagged red and yellow powders were dumped. At present, both the dumped materials and the site soil have been treated.
It is also known that the local public security organs have filed a case and are now trying their best to trace the source of hazardous waste.