Is China's Pollution Poisoning Its Children? Jul 14, 2008
ILL WIND: A young boy wears a mask against pollution in Linfen, China. Preliminary results from a study conducted in Tongliang, China, reveal that children exposed to highly polluted air while in the womb had more changes in their DNA and a higher risk of developmental problems than did those whose mothers breathed cleaner air during pregnancy. (Scientific American)
Vague Japan climate plan could risk its G8 ambitions Jun 6, 2008
Vehicles travel on a street in Linfen, one of the most polluted cities in China, in north China's Shanxi province, in this November 27, 2007 file photo. (REUTERS/Stringer). (The Star Online, Malaysia -- News)
Oklahoma City Makes Top 10 'Hells On Earth' May 3, 2008
The other cities making the list were No. 9 Dhaka, Bangladesh; No. 8 Yakutsk, Russia; No. 7 Mogadishu, Somalia; No. 3 Bujumbura, Republic of Burundi; and No. 2 Linfen, China. Distributed by Internet Broadcasting. (WNBC.com, NY)
Should Rudd do more for Tibet? Apr 8, 2008
Try looking up Linfen in on Google. You see the blatant lies the media tells their own people - were those Buddhists really planning suicide raids. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
China mine blast yields life terms Feb 25, 2008
Legal representative Wang Hongliang, investor Wang Donghai and production manager Kong Huiping were given life terms, Xinhua reported, citing the ruling of a public trial in Linfen City. Colliery manager Gao Jianmin and vice manager Qin Sanshun were jailed for up to 20 years, the agency said. (CNN -- World)
Safety subverted in China's mines Feb 19, 2008
LINFEN, China - Mining has resumed in the frigid shafts, and long lines of 18-wheelers laden with coal once again clog the twisty mountain roads leading out of Linfen ... A gas explosion in December threatened Linfen's boom ways ... The businesses in Linfen, in Shanxi province 400 miles southwest of Beijing, were hit hard. (MSNBC -- International)
Police chase profiteers following deadly China coal mine blast Jan 23, 2008
Hao Wenji, an official with the environmental protection department in Fenxi County of the resource-rich city of Linfen, and a local villager named Zhou Fuming, were suspected of having sent the 20 workers down an illegal pit, a source with the county's public security bureau said ... About seven weeks ago, a gas blast killed 105 people in Linfen, the deadliest in China in the recent two years. (Xinhuanet, China)
Accidents "likely" to rise over holidays Jan 23, 2008
In the latest case involving coal mine fatalities, a gas explosion on Sunday in Linfen, Shanxi province, left at least 20 people dead. Miners had attempted to reopen an illegal mine amid snowfall. (Xinhuanet, China)
Miners killed in China pit blast Jan 22, 2008
The mine in Linfen city had apparently been closed using explosives. China's coal mines are the world's deadliest, with the country recording more than 3,800 fatalities in its mines last year an average of about 10 deaths a day. (Aljazeera.Net)
Rewarded for a scam Dec 28, 2007
Some of you doubters should go live in Linfen, China for a year and breath their worst air, then, if you are still alive after that year, let's continue this discussion. I mean really people. (Sioux City Journal, IO)
CPC to punish corrupt members in production safety Dec 20, 2007
Li Tiantai, the mayor of Linfen in north China's Shanxi Province, has been removed from his post as the city's deputy Party chief after being found responsible for a colliery accident that killed 105 on December 5 at Xinyao Coal Mine, Hong tong County, Linfen City ... The committee also suggested to the People's Congress of Linfen, the city's legislature, to remove Li from the mayoral post. (Xinhuanet, China)
* World News Quick Take Dec 16, 2007
The disaster happened on Dec. 6 near the town of Linfen in Shanxi Province. Xinhua said 128 miners were working in the shaft at the time of the blast, that was only approved for 60 miners. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Man responsible for deadly coalmine seized Dec 15, 2007
The gas explosion occurred at 11:15 p.m. on Dec. 5 at Xinyao Coal Mine of the company, which is located in Hongtong County, Linfen City, when 128 miners were working in the shaft, far more than the maximum of 60 miners for one shift as approved by Shanxi coal mine authority. It is said that the colliery managers delayed reporting the accident to local authorities while sending another 37 workers down to the shaft for rescue operations. (Xinhuanet, China)
Coal mine accidents Dec 11, 2007
The State Council has organized an investigation team to probe into what caused the disaster in the city of Linfen, North China's Shanxi Province. Preliminary investigations show the illegal mining of an unauthorized seam, and the number of miners who had been sent down the shaft far exceeded its capacity. (Xinhuanet, China)
Mine explosion leaves 105 dead Dec 7, 2007
The blast occurred about midnight at a mine in Linfen city in Shanxi Province. The official Xinhua News Agency said 120 were in the mine, up from the previously reported 111. (Boston Globe)
China coal mine blast kills at least 105 Dec 7, 2007
The administration said the mine's No. 2 shaft had been cleared by some of the 15 rescue teams sent from the nearby coal industry center of Linfen ... Work safety officials reached by telephone in Linfen and at provincial government headquarters said they had no updated information. (MSNBC -- International)
105 die in China mine explosion Dec 7, 2007
The underground blast occurred at the Rui Zhiyuan mine in Shanxi province's Linfen city, state-run news agency Xinhua said. It is not clear what caused it. (BBC News)
Chinese mine manager arrested after underground blast kills 70 Dec 7, 2007
The coal mine safety bureau in Linfen told reporters that the casualty toll was higher than it should have been because managers had delayed reporting the blast and had tried to save the miners themselves. Managerial cover-ups in the industry are thought to be common. (Guardian Unlimited)
Dozens Feared Dead In Coal Mine Blast Dec 7, 2007
But there was confusion over the number of workers at the mine in Linfen, 240 miles south of Taiyuan, the provincial capital ... However, the coal mine safety bureau in Linfen would not confirm the figures, said Xinhua news agency. (Sky News)
* Blast in Shanxi kills at least 40 miners Dec 7, 2007
TRAPPED: An official spokesperson said 13 miners had been rescued after the blast in a coal mine in Linfen City, but 74 people remained underground, including 32 rescuers AFP, BEIJING Friday, Dec 07, 2007, Page 5 ... The gas blast occurred just after midnight at a mine in Linfen City, a coal-rich area in Shanxi Province, the State Administration of Mine Safety said in the latest tragedy to hit China's notoriously unsafe mining industry. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
China mine blast death toll rises to 104 Dec 7, 2007
The explosion happened at 11:15 p.m. Wednesday inside the Xinyao Coal Mine, a village-run coal mining venture in Hongtong County, Linfen. Exact figures for the number of workers in the mine at the time of the accident are still being established. (Xinhuanet, China)
Mine blast in China kills 40 Dec 6, 2007
It said 13 rescued miners were in hospital after the early morning explosion in the Rui Zhiyuan mine near the city of Linfen in Shanxi province. "Forty bodies have been found and 74 are still trapped," said the state administration for work safety in a statement. (Guardian Unlimited -- World)
State TV says gas blast kills 46 in northern China coal mine; 50 missing Dec 6, 2007
The explosion occurred at the Rui Zhiyuan coal mine in Hongtong county near the city of Linfen in Shanxi province, China Central Television said ... Telephones at the Linfen Administration for Work Safety and a local hospital rang unanswered. (International Herald Tribune -- Business)
Gas blast at China coal mine, 96 feared dead: Xinhua Dec 6, 2007
There was confusion over the number of workers at the mine in Linfen, 240 miles south of Taiyuan, the provincial capital ... The coal mine safety bureau in Linfen, however, would not confirm the figures in a phone interview with Xinhua. (Yahoo News -- Top Stories)
Blast kills 46 in north China coal mine Dec 6, 2007
Map locates Linfen, China, where a coal mine explosion killed at least 40; 1c x 1 7/8 inches; 46 ... The early morning explosion occurred at the Rui Zhiyuan coal mine near the city of Linfen in Shanxi province, China Central Television said in its evening newscast ... Telephones at the Linfen Administration for Work Safety and a local hospital rang unanswered. (Fresno Bee -- Local)
China's dependence on coal damaging country's historic sites Nov 4, 2007
"As you can see, the statues are dirty and it's from coal, of course,'' said Ren Yun Xia, a 21-year-old student from nearby Linfen. "It upsets me. But the whole world is developing and you can't avoid this kind of pollution. (The Star Online, Malaysia -- News)
Our policy makers neither understand, nor care much about climate change. Oct 10, 2007
It is followed by Linfen and Tianying, which are the highest coal and lead producing areas of China. Mahad Industrial Estate in Maharashtra and Ranipet in Tamil Nadu are the other Indian areas listed in the "Dirty Thirty". (India Times, India)
Ten 'most polluted places' named Sep 15, 2007
WORST POLLUTED Sumgayit, Azerbaijan; Potentially 275,000 affected Linfen, China; Potentially 3m affected Tianying, China; Potentially 140,000 affected Sukinda, India; Potentially 2. 6m affected Vapi, India; Potentially 71,000 affected La Oroya, Peru; Potentially 35,000 affected Dzerzhinsk, Russia; Potentially 300,000 affected Norilsk, Russia; Potentially 134,000 affected Chernobyl, Ukraine; Potentially 5. (BBC News -- Europe)
Blacksmith Institute names China, India cities among world's most polluted Sep 14, 2007
Other places on the list, which were ranked in alphabetical order rather than the degree of pollution, were Linfen in China, La Oroya in Peru, Dzerzhinsk in Russia, and Kabwe in Zambia. The "Dirty 30," Blacksmith's extended list of polluted locations, includes mostly sites in Asia, with China, India, and Russia having the greatest number, it said. (Boston Globe)
Haze of Confusion Over Most-Polluted City List Sep 14, 2007
Tianjin certainly has its share of noxious emissions, and Linfen in Shanxi province, which is also on the institute's list, certainly boasts some of the nastiest air on the planet. But Tianjin has very little lead processing, which remains common in smaller sites across poorer, inland China. (Planet Ark, United States)
Millions at Risk in China, India Pollution Blackspots Sep 14, 2007
LINFEN, CHINA -- potentially affected: 3,000,000. -- Carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, arsenic and lead are among the cocktail of air pollutants circulating in Linfen, Shanxi Province, which has the country's worst air quality ... -- Clean-up: Linfen plans to close 160 of 196 iron foundries and 57 of 153 coke and coal processing plants by the end of 2007, and replace small polluting plants with larger cleaner facilities. (Planet Ark, United States)
Chinese, Indian Cities Are Among the World's Most Polluted, Institute Says Sep 13, 2007
Other places on the list, which were ranked by alphabetical order rather than the degree of pollution, were Linfen in China, La Oroya in Peru, Dzerzhinsk in Russia and Kabwe in Zambia. Dirty 30. (Bloomberg -- Asia)
'Worst Polluted Places' list unveiled Sep 13, 2007
Worst Polluted Places' list unveiled - World Environment - MSNBC.com. Worst Polluted Places' list unveiled. (MSNBC -- Environment)
Worst Polluted Sites in Russia, China, India - Study Sep 13, 2007
Linfen, China, is in Shanxi Province, the heart of country's expanding coal industry, while Tianjin is one of the country's largest lead production bases. In Tianjin, residents, particularly children, suffer lead poisoning symptoms such as learning disabilities, brain damage and kidney malfunction. (Planet Ark, United States)
World's 10 Most Polluted Places Sep 13, 2007
Subscribe to daily environment news. INTERNATIONAL: September 13, 2007. (Planet Ark, United States)
The 10 Most Polluted Places on Earth Sep 13, 2007
Linfen, China - The World's Most Polluted Places - TIME ... Smog covers the city center of Linfen ... Shanxi is the heart of China's coal belt, and the hills around Linfen are dotted with mines, legal and illegal, and the air is filled with burning coal. (Time.com)
Linfen, China - The World's Most Polluted Places - TIME Sep 13, 2007
Smog covers the city center of Linfen ... Shanxi is the heart of China's coal belt, and the hills around Linfen are dotted with mines, legal and illegal, and the air is filled with burning coal ... China's State Environmental Protection Agency says that Linfen has the worst air in the country, which is saying something, considering that the World Bank has reported that 16 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are Chinese. (Time.com)
Global warming fight may get boost from ozone plan Aug 3, 2007
Smog covers the city centre of Linfen, China's Shanxi province July 7, 2007. Countries can take a big and easy step this year to combat climate change by agreeing to tighten a U.N. treaty outlawing gases that damage the ozone layer, the U.N. Environment Programme said on Friday. (The Star Online, Malaysia -- News)
U.N. climate debate tries to kick-start new treaty Aug 3, 2007
" Global climate change has been blamed for droughts, floods, rising seas and intense storms. The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said climate-warming emissions must be reduced by 50 percent by 2050. But without investment to curb climate change, emissions could rise by 50 percent instead, said Yvo de Boer, head of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is organizing the Bali conference. De Boer said the world would probably invest 20 trillion over the next 20... (Yahoo News -- Top Stories)
69 Trapped Chinese Miners Alive Jul 31, 2007
Meanwhile, Xinhua reported that authorities in Linfen, a city in the northern province of Shanxi, were investigating whether mine managers at the Liziping Coal Mine deliberately covered up a July 5 flood that left nine workers dead. An anonymous tip sparked the probe, it said, without giving specific details. (Time.com)
* China hands down death penalty in kiln slavery case Jul 18, 2007
Zhao Yanbing (L) received the death penalty from the Linfen Intermediate People's Court for inflicting a beating that led to the death of a worker at a kiln in Hongtong County that was at the center of the scandal. Zhao beat the worker with a shovel for being slow and buried the body after he died the next day in his dormitory, the door and windows of which were locked to prevent workers fleeing. (Taipei Times, Taiwan)
Man faces death for China slavery Jul 18, 2007
Zhao Yanbing received the death penalty on Tuesday from the Linfen Intermediate People's Court for inflicting a beating that led to the death of a worker at a brick kiln in Hongtong county. Heng Tinghan was jailed for life. (Aljazeera.Net)
* Beijing announces lenient slave labor punishments Jul 17, 2007
Almost all of the 95 punished were from eight counties in the Shanxi cities of Linfen and Yuncheng. They were sacked, demoted, expelled from the party or merely received warnings, Xinhua news agency said. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Chinese brick bosses get death, life in prison Jul 17, 2007
The convictions were handed down by the Intermediate People's Court of Linfen City in Shanxi. It was not immediately clear whether Heng, Zhao or Wang would appeal. (USA Today -- News)
Chinese slave labour trial begins Jul 5, 2007
An official at the court in Linfen city, Shanxi, said no verdict would be given on Wednesday, but another hearing would be held soon to issue a decision. Among the defendants is Heng Tinghan, the 42-year-old foreman of a brick kiln in Hongtong county in Shanxi, who was arrested after a nationwide manhunt. (BBC News)
Fi0000248Dve stand trial over brick kiln scandal Jul 5, 2007
Five suspects stand trial at the Intermediate People's Court of Linfen in Shanxi Province in the case of the recent forced labor scandal ... Those facing charges at the Intermediate People's Court of Linfen in Shanxi Province are kiln boss Wang Bingbing, foreman Heng Tinghan and hired guards Zhao Yanbing, Heng Mingyang and Liu Dongsheng ... After the case was exposed, police raided a kiln in Caosheng village in Hongtong County in Linfen and freed 31 workers, the youngest of which was 14. (Xinhuanet, China)
China mine boss jailed over fatal blast Jul 4, 2007
Hao's unlicensed mine in Linfen, a heavily polluted city, was shattered by a blast in May that tore through unventilated shafts where gas had built up. As well as the dead, two miners remain missing, presumed dead. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Twelve on trial in Shanxi forced labor scandal Jul 4, 2007
LINFEN, Shanxi, July 4 (Xinhua) -- The trial began on Wednesday of 12 people charged in connection with the forced labor scandal at brick kilns in north China's Shanxi Province. Those on trial at the Intermediate People's Court of Linfen City included kiln boss Wang Bingbing, foreman Heng Tinghan and employees Zhao Yanbing, Heng Mingyang and Zhao Fengdi ... The People's Procuratorate of Linfen City said the charges included illegal detention, forced labor and murder. (Xinhuanet, China)
Mine boss convicted in reporter's death Jun 28, 2007
The Intermediate People's Court of Linfen city in Shanxi province convicted Hou on Wednesday of causing the death of another by malicious injury and sentenced him to life in prison, said a court official who would only give his last name, Wang. The official Xinhua news agency reported the same outcome. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- World)
CHINA: WORLD'S POLLUTER-AMA Jun 25, 2007
The World Bank has called north-central China's coal town Linfen the world's most polluted city. Coal dust hangs so heavy in the air there that cars need to use their headlights during the day. (New York Post -- Opinions)
China's slave scandal kilns used 53,000 illegal workers Jun 25, 2007
The Linfen city government in Shanxi province has prohibited all officials from going abroad until the end of the year as local departments are probed for dereliction of duty, the China News Service reported Sunday. Commerce, labour and police officials are among those who have been charged as part of the investigations, reports said. (Yahoo News -- Top Stories)
Slave Labor in China Sparks Outrage Jun 21, 2007
20, 2007 By Rural workers rescued from an illegal brickyard at the village of Linfen, in northeast China ... EPA Rural workers rescued from an illegal brickyard at the village of Linfen, in northeast China. (Time.com)
As glaciers melt, coal-fired power stations multiply Jun 20, 2007
On a bad day - which can be hundreds in a year - the ancient city of Linfen in the northern province of Shanxi is environmental hell ... The cause is Linfen's 196 iron foundries, its 153 coking plants, its unregulated coalmines, tar factories, steelworks and domestic homes, all of which burn cheap, easily accessible brown coal. (Guardian Unlimited)
Tale of slave drivers, official apathy and human tragedy Jun 19, 2007
After they were abducted or lured into a trap, they used to be kept in a room near the stations or terminals and sent in groups of five or six to cities such as Linfen, Yuncheng and Jincheng in Shanxi where most of the illegal kilns were concentrated. As soon as the slave laborers reached the kilns, the owners used to seize their luggage and identity certificates. (China Daily)
Chinese anger over kidnapped slave labourers Jun 17, 2007
Authorities were concentrating their raids in Linfen, Yuncheng and Jincheng cities in southern Shanxi, where thousands of unlicensed brickworks and mines operate. Yang Aizhi, whose 16-year-old son went missing on March 8, said she had visited more than 100 brickworks during her search and had learned that children were being forced to haul bricks for no pay and little food. (Telegraph.co.uk)
China rocked by slave scandal... Jun 16, 2007
Chinese policemen help a young worker to leave a brick kiln in Hongtong County, Linfen City, North China's Shanxi Province in late May 2007 ... Sources from Shanxi Provincial Public Security Bureau said they raided 769 brick kilns, small coal and iron mines in Linfen, Yuncheng and Jincheng cities, where most of Shanxi's brick kilns are concentrated, after May 27 when the police freed 31 migrant workers who were forced to work as slaves in a brick kiln in Hongtong. (The Drudge Report)
China promises action on slave labor claims Jun 16, 2007
Secondary Navigation. By Chris Buckley 1 hour, 19 minutes ago. (Yahoo News -- Top Stories)
Child slave labor revelations sweeping China Jun 16, 2007
Workers rescued from a brick kiln in Linfen in Shanxi Province. Brick factories in the Chinese province enslaved hundreds of children, according to reports this week. (International Herald Tribune)
* China orders probe into slavery Jun 16, 2007
A group of rescued workers stand outside a police station after they were saved from a brick kiln in Linfen in northern China's Shanxi Province on May 27. Police said that they had rescued at least 251 people, including 29 children, who had been working as slaves in brick kilns. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Business)
Chinese police free 450 slaves Jun 16, 2007
Slave workers rescued from a brickworks in Hongdong County in Linfen, north China's Shanxi province. Photo: Reuters/China Daily. (Guardian Unlimited)
248 rescued from brick kiln slavery Jun 15, 2007
Chinese policemen help a young worker to leave a brick kiln in Hongtong County, Linfen City, North China's Shanxi Province in late May 2007. (Photo: Xinhuanet). (Xinhuanet, China)
'Slaves' rescued from China firm Jun 8, 2007
Local people said the brickworks, near Linfen, would have been closed down a long time ago had it not been for the protection of the party secretary. China has tens of millions of migrant workers. (BBC News -- Asia-Pacific)
Imposter reporter gets life sentence May 10, 2007
Seven people have gone on trial in connection with Lan's killing at Linfen Intermediate People's Court, but the court was yet to announce a judgement. Source: China Daily-Xinhua. (People's Daily Online, China)
Kite-flying contest held in north China May 8, 2007
UPDATED: 10:42, May 08, 2007. Copyright by People's Daily Online, all rights reserved. (People's Daily Online, China)
China mine blast kills 20, another 10 missing May 7, 2007
The Pudeng mine near Linfen, one of China's most polluted cities, had been ordered to halt production but restarted work without permits, the report said. Police have the mine owner and several managers under surveillance and are investigating the cause of the blast, Xinhua added. (Reuters AlertNet)
