The “poison runway” incident in the Sanmen County Primary School in Zhejiang Province follows up, and the public interest litigation has reached a settlement
Wei Tianliang, deputy secretary-general of the Green Hair Development Association, said: "We are prosecuting mainly air pollution, which can only be said to be a risk to soil and water. The poisonous runway has been eliminated within two months. We consulted many experts and the local government also ensured Eliminate the risk, so choose to agree to the settlement."
New progress has been made in the “poison runway” incident of the Experimental Primary School in Sanmen County, Zhejiang.
On June 28, a reporter from the Beijing News learned from the environmental protection charity organization China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (hereinafter referred to as the LDC) that after the public interest litigation was filed, the two parties have reached a settlement recently. According to the settlement agreement, the school and the contractor need to eliminate the environmental impact and pay the student medical expenses.
Some parents of the students indicated that they did not recognize some of the content of the settlement agreement and planned to file a private interest lawsuit.
The Green Development Commission filed a public interest litigation
On July 5, 2019, in response to the "poison runway" incident of the Sanmen Experimental Primary School in Zhejiang Province, the Green Development Commission filed a public interest litigation. The Zhejiang Furniture and Hardware Research Institute and Sanmen County Experimental Primary School were listed as defendants.
According to the indictment, the Green Development Committee believes that in the runway reconstruction project involved, the three defendants had obvious faults in the construction, testing and use process, polluting the atmospheric environment, and at the same time there was the risk of contaminating soil and groundwater, which also caused the students’ physical health. Damage, must bear corresponding legal responsibility.
The IFDC requested that the three defendants take effective measures to eliminate the risk of soil and groundwater contamination of the runway involved, take alternative repair measures to the polluted atmospheric environment, or bear the repair costs, and provide medical assistance to minor students and other victims.
The two sides reached a settlement agreement
On June 28, a reporter from the Beijing News learned from the Green Development Council that the two parties reached a settlement agreement on June 4, and the court announced the settlement agreement.
The settlement agreement shows that Sanmen Zhongcheng Company and Sanmen County Experimental Primary School have carried out environmental remediation on the playground involved, eliminating the risk of pollution from the construction of the runway involved so far. The local environmental protection supervision and management department also recognized the above work.
The agreement stipulates that the two defendants shall be reimbursed for the medical expenses incurred by the students in this incident. In addition, Sanmen Zhongcheng needs to support issues such as discussion and testing of plastic runways on campus, and fund 100,000 yuan in activities.
This afternoon, the principal Hou surnamed Sanmen Experimental Primary School told the reporter of the Beijing News that he would take the agreement seriously. According to its introduction, the school has resumed normal teaching order, and the playground runway has been hardened after being eradicated. At present, it is planning to invite the best quality plastic runway company in China to build a new runway for students.
Some parents are dissatisfied with the settlement content
A number of parents of students from Sanmen County Experimental Primary School stated that they did not recognize part of the settlement agreement.
Parents believe that the school's so-called environmental rehabilitation of the playground is just a layer of cement. The medical examination and medical expenses incurred by the students have not been fully reimbursed. One parent suggested that they would consult with a lawyer and plan to file a private interest lawsuit (referring to a lawsuit filed by a party to protect private interests).
Regarding the reasons for agreeing to the settlement agreement, Wei Tianliang, deputy secretary general of the Green Development Association, explained: "We are prosecuting mainly air pollution, and we can only say that there is a risk for soil and water. The poisonous runway has been eliminated within two months, we consulted Many experts and local governments also ensured the elimination of risks, so they chose to agree."
As for student medical expenses, he believes that this is a matter of private interest. As a public interest litigation, they have maximized the rights and interests of the victims.
Background link:
At the end of September 2018, some parents of students in the Experimental Primary School in Sanmen County, Zhejiang Province reported that there were problems with the school's plastic runway, which caused hundreds of students to develop abnormal symptoms such as cough, dizziness, chest tightness, and nosebleeds.
Afterwards, the Sanmen County Party Committee Propaganda Department reported that the school's plastic sports ground was rebuilt in the summer of 2018. According to a Xinhua News Agency report, the school stated that before and after the construction of the project, the relevant raw materials and finished product samples were sent to the "Zhejiang Sports Quality Inspection Center" for testing, and the results showed that they met the standards.
In November 2018, the relevant departments of Sanmen County, together with the school, construction, and parent representatives, sampled and sealed the plastic site involved and sent it to the testing agency required by the parent representative. The test report showed that the total volatile organic compound (TVOC) in the plastics site exceeded the standard. In other words, the runway of Sanmen County Experimental Primary School has serious quality problems.
This plastic sports ground was suspended and eradicated in the same month, and the sports ground was re-concrete poured.
In order to determine the physical condition of students, at the end of 2018, Sanmen County organized a physical examination of the school’s students. In early December, the school will send the results of the medical examination together with expert advice to the parents of students, and invite experts from provincial hospitals to provide medical consultation services for parents.
According to previous media reports, a summary of the test results provided by the parents showed that among the more than 1,000 primary school students participating in the test, there were 578 abnormal blood routine indicators; 111 people had abnormal urine routine indicators. However, this summary sheet cannot confirm whether there is a situation where one person has multiple indicators at the same time.
Beijing News reporter Zhao Pengle