[Title and summary translation from original Chinese provided by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre] Villagers in Zhecheng County, Shangqiu City, Henan Province said the groundwater in Shao Park Township has been seriously contaminated for a long time, affecting drinking water of thousands of villagers. Water from the wells instantly gives off a pungent, unpleasant smell. Villagers blame the polluted water on the nearby Zhecheng County Yike Leather Factory. A company representative told reporters that they were aware of the water contamination, but denied that the company was responsible. "An external company regularly checks that the wastewater we discharge complies with standards. The contaminated groundwater comes from pollution in the whole Huiji River area.” When the reporter asked how the factory handles the solid waste from the animal skins, he said “They are dissolved by chemicals into the wastewater.” In 2008, the factory was ranked number 1 in the “List of environmentally unlawful companies under supervision” issued by the Henan Province Environmental Protection Agency. Issues given for its listing included: “Part of the sewage treatment facility was disabled; the hazardous waste chromium filter machine was not turned on and did not operate normally when connected to an electricity source; and suspected clandestine discharge of chromium into wastewater. It also ordered the company to immediately cease production until it had remediated all of the breaches. Yike Leather Factory was still on the “2012 Priority list of companies under cleaner production inspection notices”. However, Yike Leather factory is still rapidly expanding, with no sign it will shut down, relocate or limit its scale of production.