Troubled Past

Officially, the Connell workforce was sickness-free. But rumors clashed with the official explanation after Li Hongwei, a repairman in his 30s, died suddenly April 13 while working in Connell's aniline workshop.

Neither Connell nor local authorities reported the death publicly. Wang Daxiang, the company's deputy general manager, told Caijing that everything had gone smoothly during a trial production run at the factory between April 4 and 30.

"Nothing extraordinary happened then," Wang said. "And so far, none of our 600 staff members and some 400 contracted workers have reported any physical discomfort or irregularities."

Sources told Caijing that Connell described Li's death as a result of heart attack, and agreed to pay the Li family more than 100,000 yuan in work-related casualty compensation, as well as a monthly subsidy. The man's wife, who was expected to get a job at the factory, declined an interview request.

Some rumors stemmed from allegations such as Li's 8-year-old son spread word that his father was "poisoned," and Li had complained about a bad smell at the factory as well as fits of weakness before dying. Such allegations spread quickly, triggering rumors that Li had died of a gas leak.

Workers at Jilin Chemical Fibre started reporting to hospitals with health woes 10 days after Li died.

An emergency report sent by Jilin Chemical Fibre to local government authorities April 27 said workers in the yarn workshop reported strong, irritating odors between 5:30 and 6 p.m. on April 23, and that some felt dizzy and nauseous. Supervisors started letting workers go home at 6:30 p.m., and production halted until morning.

But more workers showed symptoms within an hour of reporting to work. The yarn workshop is less than 100 meters from the Connell plant.

"The factory supervisors asked all of us to go home and reminded us to avoid walking through the front gate facing Connell, but instead take an internal route and exit through a back door," said Man Hongyan, 40, a woman who works in the yarn shop. "I had a headache, and felt nauseous, weak and numb."

Man was immediately carried from the workshop by a factory supervisor. Her sister, who also works in the yarn shop, took her to the company hospital on a motorized tricycle. A few hours later, Man was transferred to Jilin Occupational Hospital for "exposure to unknown gases."

An initial CT scan, brain ultrasound and other medical procedures determined that Man was healthy except for cerebral spasms, which doctors said can occur in healthy people. "I was told nothing was wrong," she said.

Man was discharged from the hospital three days later April 27 after being diagnosed with "cardiac arrhythmia" and "dizziness which is to be further diagnosed." That same morning, hospital officials contacted Jilin Chemical Fibre and were told that no toxic or poisonous gases had been detected by local environmental protection and work safety officials.

"The patient can be treated by a physician accordingly and transferred back to the company hospital," the hospital wrote on  Man's medical record.

Man told Caijing she still has convulsions, chest congestion and panicky feelings from time to time. Her younger sister reported similar symptoms. Both underwent treatment at Jilin CNPC General Hospital.

Another Jilin Chemical Fibre employee who fell ill was Wang Zhe. The 22-year-old has worked in the wool top workshop for three years. He detected strange odors during the night shift April 24, and said factory supervisors told workers to go home early around midnight.

Wang said he collapsed when he returned home. "As soon as I got out of the car, I vomited, started to sweat and felt dizzy," he said. My eyes were red, irritated."

Wang and other colleagues checked in to the Occupational Disease Hospital the next morning. An ultrasound indicated something was wrong with his brain. Wang was half-conscious and suffering from high blood pressure and intracranial hypertension by the time he was transferred to the Jilin City Central Hospital the evening of April 30.

Doctors said he was critically ill. And on the afternoon of May 1, Wang was taken by ambulance to the No. 1 Hospital at Jilin University in Changchun, capital of Jilin Province.

"He couldn't take in anything but a little porridge, until his third day in the ICU," said Wang's father.

Doctors who were in charge of Wang kept silent to the media. Then Caijing sent an electrical copy of Wang's brain CT and MRI films to a Beijing doctor, and was told that Wang developed cerebral edema which probably was caused by poisoning.

It's hard not to associate the latest episode with an event in late September 2008, when a dozen Jilin Chemical Fibre workers got sick. They also reported dizziness and vomiting. Most were guards working at a gate near the Connell plant. They were hospitalized for varying degrees of health troubles and eventually discharged, apparently suffering no serious after-effects. 

Caijing learned that Connell paid each of these workers several thousand to 20,000 yuan in compensation. Although aniline poisoning was not officially mentioned in incident reports, some victims' relatives suspect the toxic chemical made them sick. And they may get sick again.