Planned copper plant sparks protest in Sichuan

Residents of a small city in Sichuan province protested a planned molybdenum copper plant on Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported. Police broke up the protest although details on the demonstrations were limited. The protestors expressed concerns over the health and environmental consequences of molybdenum exposure on the city of Shifang, according to pictures posted on the Sina Weibo microblogging website. Prolonged molybdenum exposure can cause fatigue and headaches, according to the American Cancer Society. The size of the protest remains unclear. The protest is the latest in a string against Chinese industrial projects seen as negatively impacting the health of nearby residents. Last year, 12,000 demonstrators in Dalian, Shandong province, protested the construction of a petrochemical plant. But unlike in Dalian, where the demonstration came to a largely peaceful resolution after officials promised to close the controversial plant, authorities in Shifang used force to break up the protest.