China has sacked a senior official of a zinc smelter that spilled toxic waste into a river in southern Guangdong province, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Zhang Weijian, director of the nation's third largest zinc smelter in the city of Shaoguan, was relieved of his post Thursday evening, Xinhua said, citing the general manager of the Shenzhen Zhongjin Lingnan Nonferrous Metals Co. Ltd., the smelter's parent. The Dec. 15 accident has caused cadmium levels in some areas to surge to nearly 10 times above safety standards, forcing authorities along the North River to turn off tap water supplies for tens of thousands of people, Xinhua said late on Friday. Cadmium is a metallic element widely used in batteries, and can cause liver and kidney damage and lead to bone diseases when ingested.
